Despair

The Cliff

The trek through the forest wasn't the difficult part for the two men. It was climbing up the side of a cliff that gave Myron and his taller companion, Bernard, the most trouble. After their interaction with the young maiden at the pond and her equally as young protector, the two made their way to the Caverns of Horek, where their employer took up residence. It was a tall, rocky, edge of a cliff spotted with a series of caves, all of varying shapes and sizes. The cliff itself stretch a great distance in either direction, but it was the center-most caverns they were trying to reach. A makeshift rope ladder hung from a wooden platform some fifty feet above their heads.

"Why do we have ta do this every damn time?" Bernard asked as he looked down at his shorter compatriot.

"What are ya complainin' about? We're gettin' compensated, right?" Myron replied, grabbing hold of the rope ladder. Although he wasn't necessarily an overly rotund man, it still made him uneasy every time he had to climb the rope ladder up to the cavern. It looked aged and a sane man would assume the rope would give way eventually. But alas, the ropes held his weight every time.

"Ya, but this climbin' thing is gettin' ridiculous. Why couldn't he just find a place down here?"

"Why don't cha ask him when we get up there?"

"I just might do that. Ya see? I'm not afraid of him," Bernard replied as he watched his friend shimmy his short body up the ladder. After his friend had climbed a short distance up the rickety construct, he began to follow. Every time Bernard climbed the ropes, he felt as that would be the time he would fall to his death. After all, the ground below was nothing more than solid stone and boulders. A fall from that height would more than likely shatter some very important bones in his body. For the most part, he would stare up the side of the cliff while climbing, trying to ignore the fact that he was so far up the mountainside.

The wooden ledge where the ladder had led was securely fastened to the stone through unknown means. It stretched out connecting to a wooden platform that graced the tremendous entrance of a cave. As the two stood on the platform for a moment to catch their breath, torches began to ignite one at a time from the opening leading a great distance into the cliff itself. Unknown symbols and glyphs lined the cavern on either side of the passageway.

"I still...don't think this...this is a very good idea...Myron," the tall man said hunched over clutching his knees trying to recuperate his breath.

"What's wrong with ya? Yer startin' ta sound like a woman," the stockier man scolded standing himself upright. He tossed a disgusted look at his companion and began his trek into the cavern. Footsteps faintly began to echo as he made his way forward. For a moment, Bernard looked back at the rope ladder and pondered climbing down and being done with this madness. However, Myron had been his friend since childhood and felt it would be a betrayal to leave him behind. Looking back at his friend, he watched as Myron's red hair seemed to become engulfed in the shadows of the cave. Standing upright and letting out a deep sigh of disappointment, Bernard jogged to catch up. Myron was headstrong and often would lead without giving care to whether his friend was following, although the taller man would always be right behind him.

As the two made their way through the cavern, torches continued to ignite with every few steps while the ones prior would extinguish their flames. The passageway was exceptionally long, and the two could hear faint sounds of screaming in the distance. This was a new experience as normally the caverns were eerily quiet. With each step, the sounds of people became louder.

"What ya think that is, Myron?" Bernard asked, breaking the silence between them. It was almost in a whisper as he didn't want anyone or anything to hear the question.

"None of yer business. We're here fer one thing, damnit," Myron replied. The annoyance in his voice was apparent as if to tell his companion to shut his mouth. As the two continued, the screams and cries grew louder still. It sounded as if an entire village of people had been contained somewhere within the cave. Ahead, there had been a fork in the passageway that neither of the men remembered from before. Walking past, they looked down the unknown section and saw a massive wooden door just a short distance from where they stood. Standing guard was a figure adorned in full plate mail armor resting its hands on the pommel of a long sword seemingly thrust into the stone at its feet. There were no visible signs as to whoever was within the armor, only that the wearer stood perfectly still.