Wayward Tail: The Mortal Realms Trilogy, Book 1

Rock Monster

Artifax had barely enough rope. He gently let himself off the line and moved out of the way of the larger men coming down. Looking around, he saw that the ground and walls gave off a subtle illumination. It was just bright enough to see the shape of the passageway, which led gradually downward.

Throk and Ladon settled in behind Artifax. Ladon spoke, "It will likely take our eyes some time to adjust to this amount of light." Throk spoke up. "Then, let us use that time to explore the area before we continue onward... Be careful, the very ground can open up beneath your feet."

The trio explored the landing and found the skeletons of many animals who had fallen into this pit and never escaped. It seemed they were clustered against the far wall, opposite the path leading down. "Deer... Bear... Owlbear." Artifax was examining the bones. "There are claw marks on this back wall too."

Ladon added, "It is as if the animals were trying to get as far away from the passageway as possible." Even in the dark, you could see the annoyance on Artifax's face. "Thanks, like this situation wasn't stressful enough..." Throk inquired, "Are there any humanoid bones?"

A few. Artifax answered. "But none so large as ones that would befit your sister." Artifax could hear Throk sigh in relief. "Let's go further into the mountain." As the group walked down the path, the lighting seemed to be increasing, which made it easier for the group to avoid the various holes and hungry gelatinous masses. After about 30 minutes of descent, Throk stopped suddenly. The path had straighted out for the time being.

This is where she was lost to me, Throk said. "And where I saw the man. Let us be mindful of our next steps." Artifax, who had been leading the party, had turned to hear Throk words. As he was about to turn back around, he stopped and appeared to the other men to be concentrating on the walls just above where they had passed. "The stone is moving."

The large men turned to see bits of rock falling off of the ceiling and walls. "This is not right." Ladon yelled. "They are coalescing into three objects just there." Ladon pointed. Throk grabbed Ladon by the shoulder and turned him around. He began forward, farther into the mountain. "Run!" Artifax was quick to take Throk's advice.

The group ran down the flat path for a ways and then the downward slope began again. The walls became lighter and took on a dark red hue. They began to hear the rumblings of the mountain as if they were in the middle of a landslide. That is when they came to the edge of a large pit. Across from them, there was another ledge that led to another passage. Between them, by a good 20 feet was a straight drop into fiery magma.

Artifax stopped short of the edge. "This mountain is a volcano!" He looked at Throk with fire in his reptilian eyes. "You never said anything about going into a live volcano!" Artifax saw Throk grab Ladon again by the back of his clothes. Then the large man threw Ladon across the pit and safely onto the other side.

Artifax could see the mass of human shaped rocks coming down the passage. As he was being picked up and tossed across the ravine, he turned and tried to blast the rock men. He wondered if Throk would have enough time to clear the pit himself. The far edge found Artifax's side and he scrambled to hang on. He heard a large crash to his right and realized that Throk had cleared the pit.

The men had made it across the pit in one piece. The rock men were positioned on the other side, back the way they had come. The barbarian, the paladin, and the sorcerer were each breathing hard and trying to figure out their next move. Artifax couldn't help himself, "Throk... you throw like a child." Artifax smiled at the large man and began going deeper into the volcanic mountain.