Spears of Redriver

Part Fifty-One - The Caves

Carthus took a deep breath, long and slow, still facing the massive doors behind which nearly two dozen dead stumbled with the intent to rip him and Tassos apart.

"Do you think they know how to pull the doors open?" the young swordsman asked. Carthus turned to him briefly, but his attention returned to the doors. Tassos was surprisingly calm, looking around the chamber, torch overhead. The door shook slightly as the dead clattered against it, but it remained shut, letting only their low growls in.

"Does not seem so Tassos...we keep going" the Spear Commander turned, walking with his spear at the ready.

"This does not look like crypt" Tassos alerted, stepping ahead.

"No," Carthus agreed. The chamber was smaller than the one before, but it was not crafted from carefully cut stonework. This cave and the two passages leading from it were carved from the earth itself. Carthus noticed a draft blowing through as his cloak lightly pulled at him.

"You feel that breeze?" the Maad asked.

"Yes sir," Tassos replied. He walked toward the left tunnel and glanced back, "it is coming from here!"

"Check it," Carthus replied, following him. The tunnel took a long slow curve before it straightened. As they went on, Carthus could hear the ever-increasing moan of the dead. He gripped his spear tightly and slowed his walk, pulling Tassos to do so as well. The dead must be nearby.

Soon they stopped at the edge of a cliff where the cave opened up into the valley. The dead roamed below, and Carthus sighed, releasing the grip on his spear slightly.

"There was a cave," Tassos said.

"Kithar was right then" Carthus nodded. He turned and went down back down the tunnel, "let us go."

The torchlight quickly caught up to Carthus as Tassos followed him. They were soon back in the cave where the massive doors held back the dead on the other side. Carthus turned to the final passage, waving for Tassos to bring the light.

"I will go ahead," Tassos said, stepping past the Maad to take the lead. Carthus thought he saw the faceless figure watching him in the corner of his eye, but ignored it as he followed the Spear.

The tunnel here twisted and turned as it slowly started to descend deeper and deeper. This gradual decline went on for some time, but eventually slowed and stopped altogether. The tunnel walls and ceiling opened up wide. Just at the edge of Tassos' torch, Carthus spotted a drop in the earth, with a rope bridge stretched across into the darkness. He stepped forward.

"Wait...do you hear that?" Tassos whispered suddenly. He peered into the darkness left and right.

Carthus stopped for a moment, looking around as he listened. A faint, but ever-increasing, clatter of bones and scrape of steel echoed throughout the cave system. Finally, it came into view as several undead figures entered the dome of torchlight. Skeletal bodies limping toward the Spears, held together by some invisible force.

"Do we fight?" Tassos asked, and had his sword raised in hand before Carthus could reply.

"We will never beat this many," Carthus shook his head, pointing to the bridge, "we have to get across, now!"

Tassos took off with a sprint and Carthus was at his heels. As Tassos led the way with the torch held up, Carthus pulled his shield from his back and stopped to fight any deadman who drew to close to them. Each fight was short, as he pushed the dead down with his shield or smashed their skulls with the blade of his spear. Carthus was desperate to stay in the light, stopping and sprinting as skeletons chased after them. The light was all he had, if the torch went out, they would get swarmed and torn apart in the darkness of the caves.