The Maze - Tor's Quest Book 2

Chapter 29

"Skelks," Seth almost shouted, choking on his ale. "You are joking?" The look on Jenin's face told him she was not. "But they are just old wives' tales used to scare children into behaving. They do not really exist."

"Apparently they do." Egben felt all eyes turn toward him and realised he would have to explain. "The mountain is home to herds of wild goats. A few months ago, some of our young men went hunting but they found no wild animals, goat or otherwise. They found many tracks, but nothing living. They had enough provisions with them to last for a number of days so they decided to head further up the mountain. After three days of travelling, they realised they were close to the ruins of the old watch-tower and decided it would be a good place to camp for the night, before heading back down to the village in the morning. It was growing dark by the time they drew close to the ruins. They spotted the orange glow of a fire and cautiously approached it. Nothing could have prepared them for what they saw. They were creatures from hell; completely black bodies with arms so long they almost reached the ground. The hair on their heads was as black as night and covered them down the complete length of their back. What else could they be, except skelks?"

Patrick looked sceptical. "A few young men spend a few days in the mountain and fail to bring anything back from their hunting expedition. The reason they give is that a tribe of mythical creatures have moved into the old watch-tower and you all believed them?"

"Of course we did not," Egben snapped. "We ridiculed their story, but something had obviously shaken them. They were exhausted and ashen by the time they returned to the village, having run all of the way back without stopping to eat and only grabbing a few hours sleep when their bodies forced them to."

His wife took over the story. "The next day, a number of the young men's friends set out to prove the story false." She paused, looking down at her fingers as she clenched and unclenched her fists. She continued in a soft voice. "Not all made it back."

Egben placed his hand over his wife's and continued with the tale. "Upon hearing that the group had been attacked by vicious creatures, all of the men of the village armed themselves and set off into the mountains in search of the missing men. We found their bodies lying in the open, covered in deep gashes the likes of which I have only ever seen be made by long sharp claws." He looked toward Patrick. "I ask again. If not skelks, what else could these creatures be?" Patrick did not answer. The old man's words were making him uneasy.

"Nobody has dared to venture into the mountains since," Egben's son said, when he realised his father would say no more. "We have not seen any sign of the creatures near the village, but we sometimes hear them screaming in high pitched voices. Just that sound is enough to strike terror into the heart of the bravest man alive."

"What will you do now Tor?" Ebby asked, her eyes wide and filled with worry.

Tor was not insulted that she had left off his title; he understood her reasons. He finished his ale before replying. "Tomorrow Cirren and I head into the mountains in search of the secret entrance to the keep."

Cirren gulped, but did not speak. If he wished to continue with the quest, he would have to accompany Tor, and continuing with the quest was the only way of staying alive.

Tor looked around the table, his eyes asking the question he did not wish to voice. Each person nodded that they would venture onto the mountain with him in the morning.

"Sam is remaining behind," Brin said before she had chance to nod her agreement. She was about to protest, but Tor got there ahead of her.

"Sorry Brin, but she is the one person we really need to take with us." He started to challenge the statement, but Tor held up his hand. "I understand how you feel and if I had a choice I would not take any of the ladies with us, but if there really are dangerous creatures out there, Sam may be able to talk to them and convince them that we mean them no harm."