Prologue
1
Prologue
T
he showering rain had been bad enough, but bearable. It was when the raindrops started to freeze, that Dan began to wonder if nature itself was trying to tell them something.
His clothes long ago soaked through, Dan followed behind his fellow diggers, trudging through hail that started as small as rain droplets but were now as large as a child’s fist. Was this typical of the trials a digger endured in their endless search for knowledge and discovery? A ball of hail the size of a man’s fist smacked Dan in the back of the head, and he pitched forward, stumbling into the man in front of him.
“Hey now!” Jack Hearn shouted over the roar of the hailstorm. “Don’t go tripping and falling all over me! You’ll get us both on the ground!”
Dan shook away the stars in his vision and with the bigger man’s help, regained his balance. It felt like someone had punched him in the back of the head.
“You all right, lad?” Jack asked, scrutinizing the younger man. “You look like you’re about to fall over.”
Dan shook his head, then regretted it. He swayed and almost fell over, but the big man caught him by the arm and held him upright.
“I’m fine,” Dan finally said, steadying himself. “I’m good. Just…got knocked off balance, is all.”
“What’re you doing back there!” Mick called from up ahead. “Keep moving, we’re nearly there!”
Jack waved over his shoulder at the other man, then looked Dan over a little more. Finally, he nodded. “You get yourself between us. I’ll take the rear. Don’t want you keeling over and being eaten by something before we know you’re missing.”
Dan couldn’t deny the logic. With the noise of this storm, that ball of hail could have knocked him out and some animal might have dragged him away before the other men realized he was missing.
They started out again, leaning forward and using their forearms to protect their faces against the pounding ice. Dan kept his head down, looking up from under his brow to keep the hunched figure of Mick in his sights. The towering evergreens provided some cover from the pounding, but not much. Dan leaned on a thick trunk as he passed, feeling thick vines as large around as his legs that spiraled around it like flames licking their way up a burning pole. Earlier, before this Creator forsaken expedition had turned ugly, Dan had wondered if the vines shared a symbiotic relationship with these massive trees, or consumed them, like other species of vines did in some of the more remote jungles.
He gingerly stepped around the stem of a weather fron jutting up from the muddy ground. He wished he’d seen one of those things sooner. If he’d spotted one like this one, withdrawn inside itself so that nothing but the short green stem was visible, he would have known a major storm was coming.
Dan focused on carefully putting one foot in front of the other without slipping in the thick mud. Falling would be bad enough, but the cursed mud was so thick, it threatened to suck his boots right off his feet. When they’d started out five days ago, Dan had not seen the point of packing mud boots at the height of summer. ‘Never know what the world will bring you when you go exploring it, lad,’ Jack had said. How right he’d been.
A strong hand grabbed his pack and snatched him back. Dan gasped, then looked over his shoulder at Jack, who jerked his chin in the direction they had been going.
When Dan looked back, he saw why the other man had grabbed him. So focused was he on his feet, that he’d almost plowed right into Mick, who was standing at the edge of a drop off.
Dan inched his way beside Mick, and leaned forward to peek over the edge. The drop wasn’t as steep as it had appeared from further back, but it was far from mild. He looked at Mick, who was already checking the straps of his pack. He noticed Dan’s concerned expression but continued his task.
“Ain’t turning back now, boy, and we most certainly ain’t going to just sit and wait out this storm. The ground would take too long to dry even if it stopped right now. Count us lucky it’s let up as much as it has.”
Dan looked around. He’d been so focused on being miserable he hadn’t noticed the hail was gone. Only normal rain remained of the punishing deluge.
“Not much to hold onto,” Jack observed, peering over the edge.
“It’s the only way down,” Mick replied. “The sooner we get down to the cave, the sooner we can dry off.”
Dan squinted, just able to make out what looked like a cave. Tall grass and shrubs had grown over the entrance while moss and vines grew over the arched stone. It looked like the maw of a teliak.
Mick slapped him on the back, almost causing him to stumble over the edge. The old digger laughed at Dan’s responding glare. “Can’t be a digger if you’re gonna be afraid of getting dirty, lad. There’s nothin’ for it.” He nodded his head in the direction of the slope. “Let’s get to it.”
They started down, Mick and Jack descending the muddy slope at a sideways angle while Dan slowly picked his way down backwards, holding on to roots and vines, anything that looked to have a stronger hold on this slippery slope than he did.
A root snapped under his weight and he slid down. He scrabbled for another handhold, but then his feet struck something hard and he straightened and fell backwards. Mud splashed in his face, ears, and nose as he tumbled end over end, until the ground was flat again.
He rolled to a stop, lying face first on the muddy ground. Somewhere behind him he heard laughter, then a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and hoisted him to his feet.
“You alright there?” Jack said, looking him over. “Didn’t bust up anything important, did you?”
“I’m fine,” Dan said, trying to salvage what dignity he had left. “Just lost my footing.”
“Now this is interesting,” Mick said from the side.
Dan looked at the other digger, then followed his gaze to the sky. The clear sky. “How’s that possible?” he asked.
“You’re guessing just like me,” Mick said.
“Looks like nature’s sense of humor, you ask me,” Jack grumbled. “We finally make it to the blasted cave and then the weather clears up?” He spat, drawing a grimace from Dan. “Figures.”
“Might be us finally finding this cave was a good thing,” Mick said, “and the Creator Himself is showing us by lifting the storm.”
Or that He was trying to deter us and we were too stubborn, so now it doesn’t matter.
The thought surprised Dan. It wasn’t as if they were grave robbers, looking to loot some king’s tomb. They were seekers of ancient knowledge. Digging in the past was fascinating, and the primary reason Dan had sought to become a digger.
“Whatever the cause, we ain’t getting anywhere by standing here,” Jack said. “Let’s move.”
Mick used his tinderbox and lit a torch, and the others lit theirs from his. They navigated their way through the tall grass and shrubs until they came to the mouth of the cave.
Mick leaned forward and held his torch out in front of him. “Dark as pitch,” he said. “Should be okay as long as the three of us keep our light together. Stay close.”
With each step they entered, Dan’s anxiety deepened. He almost made himself dizzy as he scanned the tunnel, eyes darting in every direction. He thought he heard a sound and looked over his shoulder. Nothing. But then, the dark was not far away, like a wraith waiting at the perimeter of the torch’s light.
“Calm yourself, lad,” he heard Jack say. “We did our studies before coming here. There hasn’t been a report of anything larger than a rat living here since anyone could remember.”
“When was the last report?” Dan asked.
“’Bout a week ago,” Jack said.
Time slipped by and if they’d been traveling an hour or a day, Dan couldn’t have said. After stopping for a snack, the trio moved on until they came to a massive cavern.
“By the Creator,” Mick whispered. “Never seen anything like this.”
Dan’s mouth fell open. A soft blue tint with no apparent source floated in the air, illuminating a huge open area with stalactites scattered across the ceiling staring down at a pit of blackness. With more than a little trepidation, he stared at the bridge made of stone, that led to the other side of the pit. Dan felt his stomach lurch at just the thought of it. “We’re not crossing that thing, surely.”
“Can’t be a digger if you’re gonna be afraid of a bridge,” Mick replied. “Besides, it’s made of stone, not even a wood and rope one. Probably much sturdier.”
“What I’d like to know,” Jack said, “is who could have built it. There’s ways to get across a chasm and build a bridge of rope and wood. How in the Creator’s own imagination did anyone manage that?”
“Don’t matter,” Mick said. “There’s a tomb not far past the other side of that. I can feel it.”
Dan could feel it as well. “I don’t like this.”
Mick sighed. “Look, lad. I took you on as an apprentice despite your academic nonsense and lack of experience because you seemed enthusiastic about the job. If I’d known you were this skittish about everything I might have reconsidered.”
“It’s not that I’m afraid,” Dan replied. “But don’t you feel it? Something isn’t right about this place.”
“And how would you know what does or doesn’t feel right when this is the first dig you’ve gone on?” Mick countered.
“All right, let’s just stop right here,” Jack said. “I’m not going to say the boy’s wrong, Mick. This place does feel more unwelcoming than usual. Why don’t we just go across. When we get to the tomb, we’ll call him over when all is well.”
“Bah, whatever you wanna do,” Mick said. He threw up his hand and continued on.
Jack turned to Dan as Mick started across the bridge, grumbling about babysitting. “You gonna be alright waiting here?”
“This place isn’t right, Jack,” Dan said. “You feel it too, don’t you? Like there’s something in here.”
Jack smiled. “It’s just your nerves, lad. It’s your first dig. It’s dark in here, and that bridge is mysterious.” He looked around the blue-tinged cavern. “And I’ll admit that blue haze or whatever it is kind of unnerves me. But this is the job. This is what we do. The knowledge and artifacts of thousands of years past are waiting to be discovered. Learned from.”
Dan was about to reply but the big man patted him on the shoulder. “Just wait here and I’ll call for you when we get there.” He gave Dan’s shoulder a squeeze, then turned away. Dan watched the two men slowly cross the stone bridge across that gaping pit until they disappeared in the tunnel on the other side.
Dan looked around. That blue light hung in the air like a fog. But fog didn’t emit light. He moved toward the stone wall, thinking to sit down, when the torchlight revealed images carved into it.
“What’s this?” He leaned closer.
The entire section of the wall had carvings with glyphs beneath each event. He didn’t know how whoever did this managed to get ten feet high to carve the wall, but the light from his torch was not enough to reach it. Instead, Dan focused on the section toward the end that he could see.
They must have been glyphs from the first or second age, as there was no society he knew of that still used this type of writing. His years in academia came to him as he tried to translate the glyphs. Not all were known to him, but he was able to decipher enough to get the idea. He started at the carvings that depicted what was obviously some sort of evil black cloud with slitted eyes and a mouth full of fangs. It looked to be spreading over the land. Underneath it were dead people and animals, lying upon the cracked and charred earth. Trees drooped and plants burned. The glyphs underneath it roughly translated to The Ruination.
Dan felt a shiver. He glanced over his shoulder at the blue tinted cavern, then went back to the carvings. The next row depicted large robed figures standing before the evil cloud. Something seemed to seep from the ground into the robed figures and out in the direction of the cloud. The glyphs underneath this one translated to The Confrontation.
Dan frowned at the final row. The cloud looked to have been destroyed. Not destroyed. It was compressed and forced into what looked like a man. A single man. The last image was of six men holding a large sarcophagus over their heads, leading a long procession of mourners to a cave. The final glyphs under this last row translated to the words Redemption.
Dan’s mouth fell open. What did this mean? He looked over the glyphs and carvings again, but there was no mistaking their meaning. And if he hadn’t been able to decipher the writing, the depictions on this wall were enough to get an idea of what had happened. Some kind of evil was killing everything, and robed men had gathered to stop it but had succeeded only in trapping it in the body of a man. This man must have been important, judging by the many people who assembled to mourn him.
Dan was well versed in ancient lore, but this was like nothing he’d ever encountered. He would have to research this when he made it back to the university. He looked around the blue tinted darkness and his sense of foreboding deepened. He wasn’t given to superstitions, but he was starting to feel an urgent need to be gone from this place. Maybe he should go and get the others; show them what he found.
“Stupid idea,” he thought aloud. There was no telling how many tunnels this place had. He’d more likely get lost and die of starvation before they found him.
He looked further to the side and saw a pile of boulders against the wall. He climbed over the smallest of the rocks and shined the light over the top, hoping nothing was sleeping behind it. Dan sighed in relief at the empty spot and made his way down. He’d imagined great underground civilizations and ruins filled with hieroglyphs, artifact, and—when he was honest with himself—corlite.
He sat down and sighed again. He’d heard the stories of diggers stumbling upon veritable treasure troves of the valuable stone. They’d been able to extract enough corlite to live for the rest of their lives in comfort. Dan would use the wealth to buy a home and devote his life to study and digging. He loved what he did, but it would be even more enjoyable without the worry of how he would pay for his monthly taxes and food, not to mention a loan from the crown to buy a home with. Maybe he would move to—
His head snapped up. Was that a scream? Surely not. It was so high-pitched it couldn’t have come from Jack or Mick. Dan climbed up and peeked over the top of the cluster of boulders. For a while he stared at the far side of the bridge, then he heard another scream. It wasn’t from either of the men, and Dan wasn’t even sure it was a human voice.
A claw of fear gripped his chest and his breaths came in short fast huffs. He should find out what was going on, see if the others needed help. His mind told him this, but his body was rooted to the rock he crouched upon.
He nearly dropped his torch when yellow light burst from the tunnel on the other side of the pit. Then he heard Mick’s voice, screaming to get the hell out. Then more light burst from the tunnel and the once blue tinted cavern was bathed in red light.
Dan panicked and dropped back down. The light was so bright it was like daylight, but red daylight. On instinct he put out his torch, then climbed up again. He peeked over the top just in time to see Jack sprinting out of the tunnel, Mick not far behind.
“Go, go, GO!” Mick screamed. “It’s right behind us!”
“We can’t outrun that!” Jack yelled.
“Just keep runni—”
Mick’s last words died in his mouth as a black cloud flowed from the tunnel and swept over him. Mick’s terror-filled scream nearly made Dan’s heart stop. The cloud lifted the poor man into the air, turning him end over end. He continued to scream as the thing consumed him from the inside out. In seconds a rotted corpse fell to the ground, mouth still agape in a silent wail.
Jack was nearly across the bridge by then, and Dan opened his mouth to yell for him when the cloud swept him off his feet. The big man landed flat on his back with a heavy gasp, the wind blasted from his lungs. He turned on his side, trying to catch his breath as the black cloud swirled above him. Then, oddly, it flowed down into the pit and was gone.
Jack coughed, but forced himself to his feet.
Dan started to climb out of his hiding spot when the ground rumbled, and his foot slipped. He held on as the tremor intensified. His legs dangling, all he could do was watch helplessly as the black cloud returned from the pit. Impossible as it seemed, the thing was even darker, as though it simply consumed light.
It burst through the part of the stone bridge that connected to Dan’s side of the pit, and seemed to hover there, watching the hopelessness settle over Jack. The big man fell to his knees and clasped his hands before him, his lips moving fast and silent. Tears streamed down Dan’s face as he watched the man, clearly praying to the Creator as the cloud hovered in front of him.
The black cloud began to coalesce until it formed into what looked like a black cloud with giant arms ending in claws as long as a man’s body. Four red eyes glowed down at Jack, and beneath the fiery orbs opened a maw filled with insubstantial fangs.
It’s shoulders bounced as it watched the praying man. Was it laughing? Finally, it flew into Jack, but something odd happened. Jack was thrown to the ground, but not consumed. The cloud screeched in what sounded like irritation, then lifted Jack high into the air and dropped him onto the stone bridge.
He hit the bridge hard, and a trickle of blood flowed from his lips. In the red light that illuminated the cavern, Dan saw Jack’s eyes, staring vacantly back at him.
The cavern shook again, and the last thing Dan saw before he lost his grip was the bridge bursting apart and the digger’s body falling into the pit of blackness.
Dan tumbled to the ground then curled into a ball as stone debris rained down on him. A sound like breathing and growling echoed throughout the cavern, and it was all he could do to keep from trembling. He cracked an eye open and saw that he was covered in rock and dirt. There was a tiny split at the bottom of the pile of boulders where he could see the evil cloud, hovering over the pit.
The cloud turned left, then right, apparently looking over the cavern. Then, with a great heave, it inhaled. The bright red light was pulled away as the insubstantial creature breathed it in. Several heartbeats later the red light was no more, and even the blue glow was diminished. Lying as still as possible, Dan continued to peer through the hole at the thing. The red light flowed through the blackness of the cloud, which grew before his eyes.
It drew in a long inhale, then shook the cavern with the most awful roar Dan had ever heard. Dan clamped his eyes shut, too afraid to move even enough to cover his ears. When he opened his eyes again, the blue light was gone, leaving the area in darkness. So black was that evil cloud, however, that even in the dark, Dan could still see it swirling around in the air before it shot out of the cavern in the direction they had originally come.
For many heartbeats Dan lay there, afraid to move. Afraid to breathe. When he felt confident the thing had gone, he lifted his head. Dirt and rock streamed from his body and through his matted light brown hair.
He peeked over the top of the rock, then climbed over. He skulked along the wall, passing the hieroglyphs until he came to the tunnel.
Dan pressed his back flat against the wall and leans out for a quick look, bringing his head back too fast and smacking his still sore head against the stone. When the pain subsided, he leaned around the corner again. It was gone, or at least out of sight.
Dan made his way through the tunnels, nearly jumping out of his skin every time he heard a sound. He tried to quell his imagination as it conjured images of that terrible cloud of evil waiting for him around every bend, coming up from behind to devour him.
Finally, he smelled the crisp fresh air from the surface, and it was the sweetest smell in the world. He was alive! His sadness at the loss of his two companions was briefly diminished by the elation of being alive.
The howling wind outside was a warm welcome as Dan ran for the surface. He slowed, then stopped at the sight of the charred black grass and shrubs that had formerly guarded the entrance to the cave. He walked over it, his boots crunching the burned plants.
“What in the name of the Creator …” Dan looked up from the charred plants at the blackened path leading up the slope from where they had come. It was an easy climb to the top, as the scorched ground hard as a road.
When he made it to the top the strength left his legs and he dropped to his knees. “By the Creator Himself. What have we done?” Tears streamed down his dusty cheeks. A trail as wide as two wagons abreast extended as far as he could see, littered with the corpses of burned and withered vegetation and animals.
Dan knelt there, staring into the distance and repeating the words like a mantra. “What have we done? By the Creator Himself, what have we done?”