Spears of Redriver

Part Fifty-Two - The Stone Beneath the Tower

"Get across and burn it!" Carthus shouted.

Tassos didn't respond as he thundered across the wooden planks of the rope bridge. It swayed slightly before tightening from his weight. Carthus was on it a moment later, and it began to creak more and more with each step. He glanced down briefly and could not see the bottom of the pit. Something snapped behind him as the bridge shuddered from the weight of the undead pouring onto it.

"Go! Go!" Carthus shouted as one of the ropes behind them gave way, and the entire bridge shook violently. With the tremble, the young Maad lost his footing and stumbled, barely able to grab ahold of the side, now face to face with the drop into the dark abyss below. He caught sight of several of the undead tumbling down. The rest growled as they chased on.

He pushed himself back away from the edge and turned to run, without a second glance behind. Tassos was on the other side, torch in one hand and a glowing ball of fire enveloping his other hand. Carthus finally neared the end of the bridge and lunged onto the hard dirt ahead as quickly as he could, spinning in place with shield raised between the Spears and the dead.

"Are you sure?" Tassos asked, edging closer to the rope bridge with fire in hand, "what if there's no other way out?"

"Do it!" Carthus ordered sharply. The dead were getting closer.

Tassos stepped up and raised his flaming hand to the rope on one side and the torch to the one on the other side. The dry lines quickly caught the blaze, and it grew down the bridge, lighting planks along the way. He jumped back as a few undead leaped at them from the burning bridge.

"Ah!" Carthus held fast as the dead smashed into his shield, sliding back in the dirt. He pushed and pushed until the lines on the bridge began to snap all one after the other. The entire thing dropped into the shadows below from their end. The dozens of dead men atop it fell into the dark.

"Woo," Tassos released a big sigh, "that was something eh."

"Yeah...are you alright?" Carthus nodded.

"Yes sir," Tassos replied.

"Good, we keep moving...you're going to have to teach me that trick one day," the Maad joked, glancing at the young swordsman's hand.

They stood together, and the young man raised his torch again, leading the way into the shadows ahead. The path was a narrow tunnel cut into the rock and dirt of the cliffs, but it was quiet and Carthus was glad for it. They pressed on quietly for what seemed like half an hour until the path widened into a large chamber.

Carthus heard soft groans right away, and they looked down from atop a raised platform with stairs leading into a vast room. There were slots carved into the walls where more skeletons lay buried. Some were already walking around aimlessly.

"Get down!" Carthus ordered, ducking behind a column. Tassos was with him quickly.

"The torch might attract them" the swordsman looked around the column for a moment.

"Do you have any more?" Carthus asked. He was peaking around the other side of the stone. If they went straight through, they would quickly be swarmed, there has to be another way past them.

"I do, why?" Tassos replied.

"Can you see a way past them all?" Carthus asked.

"We can't go through, but maybe we can go over them?" Tassos replied. He pointed up above, and Carthus saw the narrow ledges sitting atop a series of columns on the walls, lining the perimeter of the chamber.

"That might work, we can climb up on this side and get down on the stairs across the room," Carthus whispered, "throw your torch into the center of the room, get their attention and we each take one side...move quickly, but quietly!"

"Yes," Tassos nodded. He leaned around the edge of the column and threw the torch as hard as he could, watching it sail through the air. It hit one of the dead men across the skull, and they all shifted sharply at him, crowding him and tearing into what was left of his bones.

"Go, we climb!" Carthus whispered over the commotion. They parted ways quickly and easily climbed to the top of the ledge from the raised platform.

The commander watched the young swordsman rush across the room quickly. He moved with ease, carefully leaning on the wall for balance. Relieved to see Tassos managing, Carthus began to move as quietly as he could. He watched the dead ripping at each other as he went, but their frenzy did not last long. They returned to their quiet shuffling before Carthus and Tassos were on the other side.

From his vantage point, Carthus spotted several blue-cloaked dwarf figures among the dead. He stopped to look around again and saw several dead men dressed in the robes and masks of the Ordethi. The brave warriors who must have tried to find the crystal to end its curse. Kithar had mentioned that others tried and failed. He shook his head and proceeded across the room, where Tassos waited in the shadows.

"We get away from them," Carthus climbed down from the ledge and faced the young Spear in the dark, "and then we light another torch." Tassos nodded and waited for Carthus to lead the way. They were off quickly, through the open doorway and down another hall. They both leaned on the walls and moved slowly to guide themselves in the dark. After a moment, Carthus stopped, "now."

"Yes sir," Tassos replied softly and shuffled through his bag. Carthus blinked as Tassos' hand was suddenly enveloped in flame. He wrapped his hand around the end of a new torch, and it caught quickly. He raised it overhead, and his hand was instantly doused.

"Let's keep going," Carthus said. Tassos once again took the lead with the light held up. They followed the hallway around another narrow bend. The stonework here was expertly made, lined, and painted. It must have been hundreds of years old, but still looked to be in good condition.

The Spears came around a final bend, and the hallway opened once again into a large chamber.

"Woah" Tassos exclaimed.

Carthus glanced around, the light barely illuminating the far walls and ceiling. Four thick columns were holding up the stone above, and a large circular podium rested at the center of the room. Atop the podium, sat a big crystal glowing a brilliant sandy yellow. His gaze was fixed on the sharp, magical stone until the faceless shadow appeared near it, glaring back at him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

"This is it?" Tassos asked. He took a step forward.

"It has to be" Carthus followed, opening his eyes. The shadow was gone. Something rumbled as they drew closer to the podium. The entire room shook for a moment. What looked like a pile of stones on the far end of the room began to shift. Dust was cast up into the air, and with a low continuous rumble, the rocks rose up into a giant humanoid shape standing nearly fifteen feet tall.