Fate - First Reply The Golden Mask

[Arnor Skuldsson]

THE SPINE
CITY OF LIGHTWOOD

THE DEVIL COMES FROM BELOW​

They said they came from here- they, being the village elders that had put up the notice all over the Spine for assistance.

The dead were plaguing Lightwood, feasting on their game, cutting trees. Very peculiar for the undead to do. The town guard had encountered several, and had come to blows- two guards dying, and the townsfolk repelling, at their words, dozens at once.

A whole army of them, practically. But Arnor had only encountered and taken care of three in his trek from Lightwood to the entrance to the mineshaft the locals had pinpointed the undead spewing from.

They said the dead walked here in droves, coming forth from this once- forgotten mineshaft. Some of the locals said it lead to an ancient city, forgotten- or perhaps, hidden by time. Arnor wondered what caused the apparent collapses in the wood beams, and why they were now repaired suddenly. His torch lit the way, his sword in the other hand, as he carefully stepped forward.

Something was amiss in this tunnel- the air was too cool, too spacious. There was also movement in it. The mine shaft must have opened to a larger chasm, or to a larger section of it. His torch was good for now- and recently lit torches. But did the dead need to see? Were they really, in droves- as they said? Creaks and moans stopped Arnor in his tracks. He was only a few steps into the mine shaft, and heard something behind him.

He swung his torch around, sword at the ready, the light barely reaching in the darkness of the night.

"Who goes there?"

​

 

[Kaige Severos]

From atop his horse, Kaige Severos surveyed the entrance to the abandoned mine. For the moment, it was quiet, save for the faint crumbling of falling dirt and pebbles. A rat scurried by, disrupting the earthen floor with tiny paws, and a crow circled overhead, hoarse call breaking the silence. But sounds and sights were fleeting, and often deceiving; through his legs Kaige could feel his steed’s stiff anxiety, and could persuade the horse to go no farther. And even from here, Kaige could smell it – the rot and the decay, and feel it shivering across his skin. The sensation of evil, subtle yet intense. Much like the tickling of a knife against one’s throat.

Kaige dismounted. He stretched his arms and legs in quick, short movements. The black leather armor that covered his body shifted and creaked with the motion, but it was ready, old yet tough and perfectly fitted. He tested the buckles and padded joints. The undead was not Kaige’s usual prey, and he did not know what abilities, what kind of retaliation, they might make.

Slinging a pack of supplies across his back and settling his spear over his shoulders, Kaige stepped into the wavering darkness. A few steps in, he took a torch from its battered sconce, and proceeded on.

It was not so much different from the sewers and lost ruins Kaige often traversed. The echoes were less here and the light greater, brought on by the lit torches that lined the cavernous walls. That itself brought a frown to Kaige’s face. Who had lit them? Did the dead need to see? Surely their minds were as decomposed as their bodies must be. Warily, Kaige ventured on, his steps unnervingly silent. He’d mastered the art of stealth in his years of hunting demons, and felt it would be of particular use here.

He glanced down. A skull leered up at him, its pale cranium cracked. Kaige nudged it aside, and it was only then he heard it – hollow moans and sighs distant as a fading nightmare. He clenched his teeth as he quickened his step, breathing in a slow, long breath of the cold, stale air. Sour, like bad meat.

The torches’ light seemed to grow less effective. Kaige didn’t know how long he’d been in this place, but all at once a stronger light illuminated the dark, and a voice called out a challenge.

He held his hand up against the crimson light and straightened, surprised yet somewhat relieved to find someone else here.

“Hold,” he called, voice low. “I’m no threat to you, if you’re truly alive.”