“Good,” comes the reply. Then the rope is quickly drawn back up.
Back at the window, Jiron takes out one of his knives. After untying the loop, he ties the end securely around the base of the knife’s hilt. He then places the knife crosswise across the corner of the window and wedges it there. While maintaining tension on the rope tied to the knife to keep it in place, he tosses the rest of the rope through the window and down to James.
Jiron!
James’ scream comes to him from below. He looks through the window just as a massive flash explodes on the other side and blinds him. Holding his eyes, he shouts, “James! What’s happening?”
Another inarticulate yell comes from James followed by a splash. “James!” he yells through the window. From below come two explosions and James’s voice calling his name.
Crumph!
Another explosion and then he hears James again calling his name, this time sounding like he’s further away.
When his eyes finally clear enough to see, he looks through the window but only sees blackness on the other side. Taking his orb, he holds it high as he leans out to look below, but the ledge is empty and there’s no sign of James.
“ James!”
Chapter Twenty Four
He stands on the ledge as Jiron pulls the rope up. Shifting his feet, he edges over to make room for when he comes down. Once Jiron makes it down to the ledge they’ll work the rest of their way down to the bottom.
Above his head, the glow from Jiron’s orb shines through the window and he can see his silhouette as he makes ready to descend. Then Jiron’s hand emerges from the window holding the rope then lets it fall.
James reaches out and catches the rope to steady it during Jiron’s descent. Pulling the rope tight, he holds it while he waits for Jiron to pass through the window. Just then from below, he catches a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking down, his eyes widen in amazement as a gigantic serpentine head atop a long neck rises out of the water below.
The scaly head rises quickly, its red eyes fixed squarely upon him. Frozen with fear, he watches as it draws ever closer. Suddenly, its mouth opens revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth. Giving out a roar, the head strikes at James where he’s standing exposed upon the wall.
“Jiron!” he screams and then throws the orb. Dodging to the side, he closes his eyes as he sends a burst of magic causing the orb to explode in a blinding flash.
The scaly head strikes the wall where he had been but a second before. James is struck by the side of the monster’s head and gets knocked from the wall. “Jiron!” he yells again as he plummets toward the water below.
“James!” he hears Jiron shout from above. “What’s happening?”
He reaches out and grabs hold of the neck of the monster to slow his fall. Even with that he hits the water hard, his breath knocked out of him. Kicking his feet, he moves out of the way just as the head hits the water.
The impact of the head causes him to be propelled by the surge of water toward the side of the underground lake. Kicking and swimming furiously, he makes the edge and pulls himself up onto the ground. Turning onto his back, he sees the creature’s head silhouetted by the light coming through the window from above, rearing up for another strike. Rolling to the right, he barely avoids being caught by the razor sharp teeth.
Getting to his feet, he quickly creates another orb and finds that the shore of the small lake extends further around the water. Running, he flees the monstrous creature and lets out with magic…
Crumph! Crumph!
…and the ground explodes upward in front of the creature.
Rearing backward and letting out with another bone rattling roar, the creature halts for a brief moment allowing James to flee further along the shore.
“Jiron!” he cries out as he races along the water’s edge. The ground trembles as the creature leaves the water to pursue him. A massive body with four strong legs and a long tail trailing behind, it looks just like a dinosaur.
Crumph!
Letting out with another explosion, he slows the creature down. Looking ahead desperately for a way out, he finds the water continues until it reaches the edge of a building. As the building becomes more illuminated by the orb’s light he discovers the shoreline, and thus his avenue of escape, ends at the side of the building.
Glancing back, he sees the creature again pressing forward to attack. Desperate for a way out, he edges closer to the water. Scanning the area once again for any sign of a way out, he notices the water lapping at the edge of the building and that the ground beneath the wall has been eroded away by the water.
With no time to determine if the eroded area extends very far, he runs and dives into the water. Swimming quickly, he reaches the building’s edge. Just then, the water swells when the creature enters after him. Praying he’s right, he takes a breath and dives again under the water.
Using his hand for a guide, he swims under the stone of the building. The stone above him extends for what seems like a long distance before his hand comes to the end of the stone. Kicking to the surface, his head breaks through to open air and he takes a ragged breath.
Heart pumping, he creates another orb and finds that he’s in the corner of a large room. Over time, the water had eroded the ground out beneath the foundation causing the floor to fall away and drop below the surface. Reaching out a hand, he takes hold of the edge of the floor and quickly leaves the water.
Once out, he moves away from the edge and watches to see if the creature will follow. The opening isn’t very large so he hopes it will decide against it. When all remains quiet for several minutes, he sighs with relief that the creature isn’t going to follow.
Then it hits him. He’s all alone. How will Jiron follow and catch up with him while that creature is out there? Even Jiron’s prowess with the knives will be of little use against such a massive creature.
He sits there a moment and takes stock of the situation. They’re both still alive and will both be working to get out of here. He seriously doubts if Jiron will even think about trying to follow the way he went.
The room he’s in is rather large, the ceiling rises up at least two stories. As all other rooms they’ve come across, this one is bare of any furniture or anything else that would indicate what its purpose once was. On the far side of the room lies a closed door, the only way to go other than the one he used to enter. He hopes Jiron can either find him or a way to the surface.
Crossing the room to the door he takes the handle and pulls. He has to exert a lot of pressure to get it to swing open into the room. Beyond lies a hallway leading further into the building.
James takes the orb in hand and passes through the door, holding it high to better see what lies ahead. He moves down the hallway until he the light from the orb reveals a door ahead that’s slightly ajar. As he nears the door he stops when it appears as if a faint, dark light is coming through from the other side. Canceling his orb he sees that there is indeed a dark light coming through the doorway, and it’s pulsating.
Stepping softly, he moves to the opening and peers around the door. “Unbelievable,” he says under his breath. “I know this place.” In one of the campaigns he designed for role playing, he devised a room almost identical to this one.
In the center of the room is a pulsating purple sphere of light that’s twice the height of a man. Lightning crackles through it from one side to the other. Empty cages line the side of the room to the right and to the left stands an altar.
Sitting on top of the altar is a four armed, twisted, humanoid creature which in the campaign he designed was the representation of the cult’s god. No one appears to be in the room. He stands there and watches for a minute to be sure the room is empty. A doorway lies on the wall between two of the empty cages with another across the room from where he stands in the hallway, both are closed. When no one makes an appearance, he opens the door further and walks in.
The pulsating sphere gives off a malevolent aura and if it’s like the one he made, will lead to the plane where
