Original: To Fire It Shall Return

Chapter 7

The mouth of the tunnel was black, seemingly blacker than the darkest corners of hell where only the wild cackles of insane laughter of the long-term residents can be heard. To either side, steep hills rose, made of tiny, crumbling pieces of rock and rusty bits of metal that shifted and caused mini rock slides that made the hill almost impossible to climb.

Alainna looked ruefully down at her white slippers, now scuffed and browned from use, but still comfortable, protected by the magic that infused them. "I can't climb that with these slippers, and Kelden can't with his sandals. We either have to go around or hope that that tunnel leads somewhere."

Lelahn looked irritatedly from her heavy leather boots to Alainna's thin slippers and back again. "I've been wondering this for a while: why did you wear those silly things in the first place?"

Alainna shrugged. "Tradition." Lelahn looked at her incredulously. "Half of what a White Sorceress is is tradition. If I could just depart from it whenever it was convenient, I wouldn't be the White Sorceress anymore. Why do you think I always go around in this thin dress, even in the dead of winter?" she said defensively.

Lelahn's eyes flashed. "That's ridiculous! We are on a dangerous quest to kill the Black Wizard and you have to wear slippers? Isn't this one of those times when you are allowed to depart from tradition? It's insane!"

"I didn't expect to be walking for more than a couple of days! I'm bending enough rules even being here. The only reason I could go on this quest was because I'm the only one who can stand up to the Black Wizard." Kelden broke in, interrupting the argument before it could cause yet another rift to open between the three of them.

"The tunnel does seem to be pointed in the right direction, and there's fresh air inside. As long as it doesn't make any major turns later on, it will probably be a lot faster than the uneven ground topside, particularly if we have to circle around."

Instead of ending the argument, Kelden's words simply directed Lelahn's boiling emotion onto him. "How do you know that it's the right direction? It could make a right turn four feet in and we wouldn't know it - unless, of course, you have superior eyesight to us normal humans." This last was said with extreme contempt. Kelden's eyes turned squarely on her and he leaned over her, his greater height bearing down on her. For a moment she cowered as the look in his eyes reminded her again of the Black Wizard. He didn't back down as a look of panic passed over her face, he simply spoke slowly and clearly, his eyes flashing fire.

"Don't get your shirt in a knot," he said, slipping into his defensive habit of peppering his speech with ancient sayings, "I don't have superhuman eyesight, but Karim does. He can see better than any human, and sense whether or not that tunnel has clean air inside." Lelahn backed up a step, out of direct assault by his black eyes, which had grown cold and empty of emotion as his rage rose, and drew herself up with effort, preparing to argue out of principle.

Alainna cleared her throat, trying to dispel the uneasiness that Kelden had inspired. For an instant, she had seriously wondered if perhaps her friend had actually been replaced by her longtime enemy. "Well, what are we waiting for? The Black Wizard is waiting." She strode purposefully toward the entrance of the tunnel, forcing the other two to break off their confrontation and catch up. Kelden dug a torch out of his pack and lit it, trying to ward off the palpable darkness as it swallowed them up.

Lelahn wasn't afraid of the dark, she had spent to much time immersed in it to retain that childish fear; however, she couldn't help but feel, as the sound of her footsteps echoed off the close walls and the bright light of the entrance receded behind them, that she would never see the warm, welcoming sunlight again.

The interior of the tunnel was the strangest thing that Alainna had ever seen. It wasn't cylindrical, but had flat walls and ceilings - albeit pitted and crumbling with age and covered in moss and other green things. The blanket of moss that covered every surface faded away quite early as the daylight dwindled to nothing. Once became too dark to see, Alainna took the torch from Kelden, and he raised a hand into the air, lighting it on fire. Of course it didn't hurt him in the least, and was, in fact, brighter and gave off more heat than the torch could.

They came to a set of stairs and descended slowly, careful not to slip on the thin film of condensation that covered every surface and walking treacherous. Luckily, there was some sort of metal rail in the middle and they held tightly to that as they went. At the bottom of the stairs was a huge open area, flat, with pillars holding up the high ceiling at intervals. There was a great rushing wind that pushed at them violently. After a little investigation, the three discovered that they were actually on a platform with very long tunnels on either side. The tunnels were apparently the source of the wind.

"Well, which one do we take?" Lelahn asked no one in particular.

"Lets follow the one on the right." Alainna suggested.

"Why that one?" asked Kelden.

Alainna shrugged, "I don't know. Do you have a better suggestion?" She turned without another word and climbed carefully down off the platform, balancing the torch precariously. Kelden smiled faintly and followed while Lelahn brought up the rear. The floor was lined with two strips of metal, rusted almost to nothing. They followed the strips, trying not to trip on the numerous chunks of stone that had fallen out of the walls over countless decades.

"What is this place?" Kelden wondered aloud. His voice echoed off the walls, complimenting the sound of the wind and the endless, regular drip of water. That, and silence was his only answer.

After only an hour of walking, a noise began to intrude on Ferris' senses. They were following a rough path - little more than a suggestion of beaten down earth, but there nonetheless, and a comfort to the apprehensive Badlanders. Ferris looked up, his large ears trembling as he fought to catch the sound before the slight wind whipped it away. Norath regarded her life-partner with curiosity.

"What is it?" she asked. He hushed her sharply, and increased his pace, pulling ahead of Norath. She quickened her stride, catching up to him and trying to be as quiet as she could. After a moment, she heard the sound that had caught Ferris' attention - the soft cry of a child.

Suddenly, Norath was certain that this was one of the children from Kaladar or Nophelan and that they would be able to rescue them after all. A few tense and hopeful minutes later, they finally reached the source of the sound. A single child sat in the shade of a tree, holding her knees and rocking back and forth. She was sobbing a quiet cry of fear and loneliness. Norath moved forward, trying not to startle the child.

"There, there, it's all right. Don't cry. You're safe." The soft, comforting words dripped from her lips. She repeated them, over and over as she approached the child, but she didn't respond at all. Norath knelt down beside the child, reaching out with one hand to stroke her long blond hair. At the touch, the child looked up.

She was the most beautiful child Norath had ever seen. Even Ferris, a few feet away drew in a breath as the splendor of her appearance was revealed. She seemed to be only about four years old, and the babyish face was framed with straight golden hair, giving her an angelic look unlike anything Norath could have imagined. Her tear-filled eyes were a dark brown and seemed to take in every aspect of her surroundings. Each detail was reflected in those bottomless eyes, and accompanied by a wonder that was exquisite, almost to the point of pain, to see. Instead of being frightened at Norath's appearance, the girl looked at her with steady, intelligent eyes.

"Who are you?" The voice was a child's, certainly, yet it carried a weight that was difficult to grasp. It gave her words an adult flavour that caught the attention of whoever heard her. For a moment, Norath wondered if this extraordinary child could be the daughter of a sorceress, but she immediately dismissed the possibility. No white sorceress would ever abandon a child this way, and the nature of magic ensured that black sorceresses couldn't have children. This was definitely the child of a mortal.

"My name is Norath, and this is Ferris. Do you know where you are?" The words were said in a soothing tone, but the child's tears had dried and she spoke in a decisive tone.

"No. I'm Renah. Where is my mommy?" This last was said in a trembling voice as the tears threatened to overwhelm her again.

"I don't know, Renah. Did she bring you here?"

"Yes, she said to wait here and someone would come and take care of me." She looked up with such hopeful, innocent eyes that Norath immediately melted. "Are you going to take care of me? I heard strange noises in the night and they scared me." Norath didn't stop to think, this child had been abandoned here, that was certain. No loving parent would ever leave a four-year-old child alone overnight in the Badlands.

"Of course we will. We will take you home with us right now." The child leapt to her feet jubilantly, her fright forgotten. Ferris picked Renah up carefully, holding her against his soft, furry chest and they continued down the path toward Garothan. After a few minutes, the child was asleep, her cherubic face buried into Ferris' chest.

The torch flickered brightly, only barely keeping the hidden horrors of the night at bay. Kelden had long since tired of maintaining the magic necessary to keep his hand burning, so they had drawn close together, safe within the small circle of sanity marked out by a sharp-edged ring of dancing light.

After hours of reverent silence, echoing footsteps shattered the stillness. A moment later, a Badlander shuffled past, muttering quiet inanities to himself. His hunched back forced his head down, so that Alainna couldn't see his face. He didn't seem to register their presence as he swept by, never slowing his pace, or stopping the incessant movement of his mouth. Over the next hour, three more Badlanders passed them, all headed in the opposite direction that they were. Alainna tried each time to get their attention, but none of them responded to her entreaties. Kelden had developed a worried frown that creased his youthful brow and deepened the look of age in his eyes. Lelahn, as always, continued to walk, her eyes faced resolutely forward, seemingly unconcerned by what lay ahead. Alainna admired her courage, though she knew the blank look was a mask, in place to cover up whatever emotions she may be feeling. Just coming on this trip must have taken a bravery rarely found in one so young - or perhaps just an overpowering drive for vengeance. Whatever it was, Alainna was glad to have her along - despite her distressing antagonism toward Kelden. Her strength was an inspiration.

Up ahead, Alainna could barely see the tunnel curve gently to the left. There had been a few curves to the right thus far, and there had been some concerns as to whether they were still going in the right direction, and this new turn was encouraging; however, as they drew closer, Alainna began to hear an unusual sound, a skittering, scratching sound that brought a frown to her face. She stopped just before the turn, forcing Kelden and Lelahn to stop as well. They turned to her, Kelden's face reflecting her own concern.

"What do you suppose that is?" she whispered, trying desperately not to make any noise that would alert whatever horror they were about to encounter. This was most likely what had scared those Badlanders, and Alainna wanted to meet it with every weapon at their disposal - including surprise. Despite her care, her words echoed softly off the walls. The noise paused for a moment, then resumed as it had before. Kelden leaned forward, whispering directly into Alainna's ear.

"I don't know, but I don't think we have much choice but to find out. We can't go back now, we'll lose too much time backtracking and the other tunnel may not be any better, in which case we'll just have to go topside again, and then we'll be no better off than when we entered." The feeling of his breath against her earlobes sent an involuntary shiver through Alainna's body that she struggled to repress. She brought her lips up to Kelden's ear, after a glance toward Lelahn. If she could hear, she certainly wasn't trying very hard. She stood close to them, but with a look of utter unconcern on her face.

"I agree, let's be careful then," Alainna said. She drew her dagger, mentally wincing at the brightness of the flash. Kelden and Lelahn followed suit, drawing their weapons noiselessly. Then they followed Alainna around the corner.

The new threesome stopped to rest in the shade of a tree only a few kilometres from Garothan. The girl had insisted on walking for part of the way, and was now exhausted. Ferris and Norath welcomed the brief respite as well. The daylight was still strong, and the birds, lively, so they felt safe enough not to push their new charge beyond what was necessary.

She had a impetuous way about her, but was still a young child, and greeted the strangeness of her surroundings with unadulterated joy. Despite her earlier words, she seemed to have no fear at all, and had accepted the disappearance of her parents and all that was familiar with youthful ease. Norath had originally assumed that the girl was four, yet her words seemed to carry an inflection that was beyond her age, making her seem five or six. Renah sat under the tree, her little dress smoothed out over her knees as if she were a lady, preparing to entertain guests.

"Renah," Norath began. Immediately the child's eyes were upon her, and she was momentarily lost in the darkness of them. There was a pause, during which Renah didn't squirm, as a normal child would, but simply looked, questioningly, calmly, waiting for Norath to speak. After a beat, it became too much for her,

"What is it, Norath?" The pause helped Norath to pick up her thoughts where they had been upset by the girl's haunting, so unchildlike look.

"How old are you darling?" she asked, the endearment tripping off her lips without her notice. The child looked at her thoughtfully and then held up two fingers.

"I'm this many. My mommy told me so." Two-years-old? Norath tried to wrap her mind around the figure. She had been thinking that the girl must be older than she looked, not younger!

"Are you sure, honey?" Renah frowned impatiently.

"Yes, mommy made me remember!" Norath exchanged a surprised look with Ferris. Could this be the reason for the poor child's abandonment? The parents had seen a girl seeming so much older than she really was, and thought she was a Badlander? Norath had heard about the cruelty of Anatans all of her life, but had never conceived that their hatred of her kind went this deeply. For the first time, their isolation and secretiveness made sense to her. Ferris leaned closer to her, the fine hairs on his face tickling her ear. A thrill of love whispered through her.

"The sun is getting low, we should hurry home. I'm sure the Chief will want to know about Renah as well."

"Yes, let's go."

Ferris swung Renah up onto his shoulder, which was much wider than a normal one because of the diminutive size of his head. This elicited a whoop of glee from the child and they continued to walk back to Garothan.

Alainna, Lelahn and Kelden crept silently around the corner, keeping their eyes moving for any sign of impending danger. As they rounded the corner, the scrabbling sound got louder and louder. It echoed off of every wall, magnifying itself until it took every ounce of Kelden's will to stop himself from sheathing his sword in order to cover his ears. Abruptly, the sound stopped, just as Kelden saw what they had encountered.

A natural cave under this tunnel had apparently collapsed, creating a deep pit, centuries old. The pit extended from wall to wall, except for a thin strip of rock that could serve as a path from one side of the chasm to the other. It had probably been too strong to collapse on its own, after the original quake that had caused the hole. The metal tracks were twisted, sticking up in the air, and reminding Kelden strangely of the crushed cornstalks in Garothan. There was no evidence of any creature that could have been making the horrific noises a moment ago. There was a stench here too. It smelt of spilled blood and rotting flesh. There was something else, too, underscoring the rest: fear, as if it had been inspired in this place with such frequency that it had begun to develop a substance of its own. The three drew up carefully to the edge of the pit, feeling for any loose soil that could crumble and pitch them headlong into the pit. They reached the edge and looked down, Alainna holding out her torch to illuminate the bottom. The pit was much too deep for the torch to penetrate any but a tiny fraction of its depth. As it was, however, that didn't matter.

Eight eyes, eight monstrous eyes, stared out at them from the bottom of the hole. They glowed with an unearthly inner light, and served to partly illuminate the rest of the creature. In the dim light, it seemed to be a spider, but one so monstrous that Kelden's mind reeled at the comparison. He spoke to his companions in a whisper, trying not to alert this gargantuan of their presence, if it didn't know already.

"I elect that we blow this joint as quickly as possible." Alainna nodded, and after a fraction of a moment, so did Lelahn, her pause making it clear that she was only agreeing out of necessity, not because of Kelden. At that moment, he hardly cared. They edged over to the narrow pass and Alainna took the lead, her slippered feet whispering on the bare, swept rock. As Kelden stepped down onto the rock, the smoothness of its surface caught his attention, and a moment later, he realized their mistake. "No, wait Alainna, it's a-"

Two of the creature's legs smashed into the rock, one on either side of the party. The chitinous spikes on the ends buried themselves deeply into the wall, anchoring them firmly. They were as thick as tree trunks, and covered with cables that might have been hairs. The force of the impact was nearly enough to dislodge the threesome, but the numerous dents and holes in the walls - most likely from earlier trappings - gave them enough handholds to prevent them from falling straight into the cavern that was probably meant to be a mouth. Next, smaller tentacles snaked up, clearly intending to take hold of them and drag them off the rock. Kelden immediately took action.

Simultaneously, three of the tentacles burst into flame. A high keening cry of pain split the air, rattling their teeth and nearly driving them to their knees. This was the distraction that the creature wanted. Three more tentacles grabbed ahold of them. Kelden didn't bother to form the presence of mind necessary to pick an exact target for his magic, he simply lit himself on fire. The tentacle shriveled under the intense heat and the crushing weight was off him.

Alainna did likewise, coating the tentacle in ice, freezing the air around her in the process. The water vapour in the air fell to the ground as tiny pieces of ice and the intense cold of the air finished freezing the appendage. The tentacle simply shivered apart, making little tinkling noises far below as pieces of frozen flesh struck the floor of the pit.

The instant they were free, Kelden and Alainna moved toward Lelahn. Having been distracted by the loss of five limbs in rapid succession, the creature had not yet tried to drag the defenseless girl away, but the tightness of its grip had left her almost without oxygen, and her arms were crushed against her sides, with her shortsword pinned to her thigh. Kelden and Alainna attacked the limb with their weapons, not daring to use magic this close to Lelahn. Within a moment, the tentacle was cloven, and it fell away, spurting a thick black viscose substance.

Lelahn had fainted from lack of oxygen and nearly fell into the pit herself, but Kelden caught her in his strong arms and lifted her up. Alainna froze the thick limb that was blocking their escape and they climbed over it, fleeing the creature before it could recover. The keening noise rose even higher as the creature registered the loss of its prey, but there was nothing it could do. It was a prisoner in the hole, and only the pass was low enough for it to attack the unwary, or desperate, passersby. Within minutes they were out of earshot and they stopped to rest.

Lelahn regained consciousness, never asking how they had escaped. They continued to walk, finally emerging from the tunnel into another cavernous hall with a platform. They went up the stairs and emerged from the dark hellhole just as the sun began to peek up over the horizon. They had been in the dark for over twenty-four hours, and were now far beyond the hills, though the forest still seemed to stretch forever.

They slept through the day sheltered by something which looked somewhat like a palm tree, though they could not be certain if the resemblance was accidental or intended. It was stunted, and the leaves were oversized and hung down to the ground like a green cloak. It had the effect of obscuring them from casual view, though gaps between the leaves let in bright shafts of sunlight and a cooling breeze and a closer look would have easily revealed them. They felt confident, however, that the more fearsome inhabitants of the Badlander wilderness were more at home in the dark. They didn't bother to set a guard, even this close to the Black Wizard's fortress, but gave in to their overpowering exhaustion.

When the yellow sunlight had faded to deep crimson and finally disappeared completely, they emerged from their leafy shelter and continued walking. Though they had spent most of the day before in silence, Kelden finally broke the quiet of the Badlander forest.

"I've been wondering; what do you suppose this 'Lady' is that Norath was talking about?"

"I have no idea," Alainna admitted. "She was rather cryptic."

"Yeah, it was weird. I never would have thought she would act like that. Maybe the Badlanders have more to hide than we thought."

Lelahn was walking ahead, leaving Alainna and Kelden to their conversation. At that moment, she stopped dead, gasping audibly. Alainna's head came up and they broke into a run to catch up. Kelden drew his sword, which produced a ringing sound as it was freed from it's scabbard, like a fine crystal glass when it's tapped by a fingernail. They drew abreast of the shocked Lelahn and also stopped short.

They had reached a huge open clearing in the forest. The trees stopped dead and there was no evidence of life continuing down a gentle slope to the bottom of a valley. At the bottom of the hill, was the object that had surprised them. In the dim light, it looked like a monstrous head, lying on its side in the bare earth. They cautiously descended the slope to investigate.

Standing beside it, the head looked even bigger than before. Vines were just beginning to snake their way across it, and moss hung in great curtains from the nose and a crown that adorned the top of her head. The face was undeniably female.

"Could this be The Lady?" Kelden whispered in awe, staring up at the monstrous face. She lay on her side, like the head of a doll, only a million times bigger. The crown had projections like knife blades sticking out like spokes. The ones on the bottom were broken and many of the others had also fallen off and were lying on the ground. Each one was wider than they were tall and acted like barriers, as if attempting to protect The Lady from casual inspection.

Alainna gazed up at her. "I think it must be, but why would it be dangerous?" She reached out gingerly and laid a palm on the object. It was hard and cool, like metal - only no object this huge could be made of metal. It was pitted and rough with age, but it was obvious that it must have been smooth in its younger days. She looked away suddenly, meeting Kelden's twinkling, gorgeous eyes. "I wonder where the body is."

Lelahn wandered away from them, gazing rapturously at the monstrous head. She walked around it, continuing until the other two were hidden by the delicate curve of a cheekbone. She stood quietly, gazing at The Lady, letting it fill her vision until there was nothing but it and the call of the birds at the top of the hill intruding on her consciousness. As she gazed at it, she suddenly felt the overpowering need to touch it. She reached out...

The images hit her like a hammer, filling her brain until it threatened to burst--

--and the year was 2061 and the bombs exploded and everyone died an invisible, washing, colourless death. It was 2061 and they were BURNING and the children were like torches and fried where they stood. And the CHILDREN. Oh the year was 2061 and it didn't matter, nothing mattered because they were all DEAD and everything burned except the buildings who stood as whole silent sentinels over the bodies and it was 2061 and oh God IT WAS TWENTY-SIXTY-ONE and--

--Lelahn tore herself away from the immense statue, screaming.

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