“It might be nice to find that temple again sometime in the future,” said the Vipsanius with a smile. “I’m also trying to tally with all the turns we took getting here in case Tenebrous is leading us astray.”
“Oh,” said Sorus suddenly ashamed that he didn’t keep mental track of their turns during the descent. “Are we going the right way?”
“As best as I can tell,” said the First Rider. “It’s not easy to keep track of things when underground but, so far, he seems to be leading us towards the exit. We are headed upwards at the very least.”
Sorus nodded his head as they continued and Odellius’s breath became more and more labored with every step. “Are you all right, Odellius?” said Sorus as he moved up behind the big knight. “You sound like you need a rest.”
“I’ll… huh huh, be ok,” said the man his face so red it seemed to glow even in the dim light provided by the stones. “Maybe I should eat and drink a little less. Don’t let Vipsanius know I said that though,” he told Sorus with a wink.
“I already heard,” said the First Rider. “Tenebrous, can we stop for a few minutes to catch our breaths or is it still too dangerous?”
The dark shadow paused for a moment and its shape twisted slightly although not into any identifiable form. “Yes, I will scout ahead to see if Thantos has prepared an ambush. The darklings seem less interested in pursuit than I imagined.”
The four men stopped and Odellius appeared seriously winded as he slumped to the ground. Sorus smiled broadly and slapped Jon on the back with his good hand, “You’ve got your staff, my friend. You came all this way, all those months, and now you’ve got it!”
“Now, the question becomes can I get it back home,” said Jon to Sorus his face quite serious for once. “I never really thought about that part. With reptile men, the dragon children, the Lady of the Abyss, and who knows who else chasing me down from every corner of the world, the journey might prove… troublesome.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before,” said Sorus. “You must be getting old like the First Rider and Odellius.”
Jon nodded his head at Odellius and Vipsanius and laughed aloud, “You might be right Sorus,” he said smiling broadly and infectiously. “I am usually a rather happy-go-lucky fellow. My father would approve of this new Jon Gray, although my sister probably won’t believe it.”
“That is an important question, Jon,” said the First Rider. “The journey back to Tanelorn is both long and perilous. Do you have a plan?”
Jon nodded, “I planned to go back the way I came. I’ll ride to Doria and then catch a ship up to Sea’cra. From there the journey across land to Tanelorn is thousands of miles. I used a portal on my way here so I’m unfamiliar with all the lands in between.”
“That’s a dangerous journey, Jon,” said Vipsanius “with or without the staff.”
Jon nodded, “I know, but what else is there to do?”
“I’m going with him,” said Sorus as he interrupted the conversation and moved over to stand next to Jon. “Sir Germanius ordered me to go with him no matter what.”
Jon looked up startled, “You’ve just become a knight of Elekargul,” said the young warrior of gray, “don’t you want to enjoy that for a while before heading off on a trip that will take years? You may never come back to Elekargul.”
Sorus shook his head, “It’s not really a matter of what I want or not. Sir Germanius gave me an order and I intend to follow it. Besides, Jon, sticking with you might be a lot of fun.”
“A lot of danger is what you mean,” said Odellius as breath slowly returned to normal.
“That too,” said Sorus with a smile, “every young knight wants a little adventure so he can tell stories to the pretty girls.”
Just then the dark voice of Tenebrous broke into their conversation, “The way is not clear. There are darklings at all egresses. I suggest we move directly towards where my enemy Thantos waits because there are fewer darklings there, the creatures do not trust one another, but my motivation might simply be to have you kill him. You should make your own decision.”
“You’ve been straight with us so far,” said Vipsanius to the dark shadow. “We’ll follow you against this Thantos fellow. Is there anything about him and his allies we need to know?”
“They carry toxins in their claws and on their teeth that slow your reflexes and can even paralyze you,” said Tenebrous. “They don’t wear armor so your swords should make short work of them but don’t let them scratch or bite you.”
The First Rider nodded his head, “I’ve fought ghoulish creatures before,” he said, “but this is a particularly powerful variety of the species. It doesn’t have any special powers that might tip the tide of battle?”
The dark cloud seemed to waver back and forth for a moment, “I assume Thantos is so equipped, but I do not know the exact nature of his abilities. He is the ghoul with the overly long tongue and if you kill him quickly the others will likely flee.”
“Good enough,” said the First Rider with a nod of his head, “lead the way.”
Tenebrous again seemed to flow and change shape as he headed further down the corridor and the four knights followed along at a fast pace.
“I haven’t done this much running since I was a wee boy,” said Odellius and slapped Jon Gray on the back with a hearty thump.
“You were wee?” said Jon in reply.
“Well, relatively speaking,” said Odellius with a smile barely visible in the gloom of the cave.
“Stop now,” said Tenebrous in his deep gravelly voice, “they are just ahead. Douse your lights and you should be able to see well enough once your eyes adjust.”
They deactivated their light stones as advised and waited a few moments before a dim glow from up ahead became apparent.
“It that sunlight,” said Sorus, “or just more glow stones?”
“Glow stones,” said the First Rider, “it’s not the right hue for sunlight. I think I can feel a breath of air though, we’re close to the surface. The plan is to rush the one with the long tongue and kill him first before he can organize resistance. Jon, you’re faster than the rest of us, so you’ll be the first one there, but try not to get too far ahead.”
Jon nodded.
The First Rider held up in hand, “Three, two, one, go!”
Jon’s long legs took a moment to get moving but his huge stride quickly carried him past Sorus and the First Rider and he burst ahead towards the half dozen shadowy figures that lurked in a small cave. Jon was first among them, spotted the long-tongued creature instantly, and moved directly at it as it raised its arms and began to chant. Jon raised his own sword and shouted out, “For the Gray!” as he brought it down towards the head of the leader even as a spray of silver energy enveloped him.
Jon’s sword suddenly seemed to slow, his face became a grimace of effort, Thantos licked his long tongue over his lips and began to smile broadly, when Jon let out a fearsome grunt, broke through the silvery cloud, and brought down his sword in a deadly arc. The smile vanished from Thantos’s face as it tried to move to the side and avoid the sword, but the blade bit into his shoulder and right through to the chest cavity as blood and gore spewed out in a spray.
Thantos reached forwards with long hooked claws, grabbed Jon around neck, but before it could grip deeply the young knight of gray jabbed his head forward and smashed the face of creature with his forehead and iron helmet. Thantos’s skull cracked, his eyes rolled backwards, and he felt to the ground as his life’s essence poured out from the terrible gash. Jon spun, but suddenly felt weak in his knees as the toxic contents of the claw pumped from his neck directly into his heart, and his legs felt like blades of grass in a stiff breeze. Two of the other ghouls moved towards him with their talons extended; he tried to raise his sword but felt like he swam under water, and their razor sharp claws seemed ready to tear off his face when a silver blade suddenly appeared between the eyes of one of the creatures. It fell dead to the ground and the second dashed away in a sudden burst of speed.
Odellius and the First Rider appeared a moment later as the two men swept aside the ghouls, their swords flashed and the big knight of Elekargul used his belly to bounce foes away. Jon felt his legs suddenly give out and he fell to the floor. He could feel his heart beat in his chest like some slow drum. It seemed only a moment later the face of the First Rider appeared over him and asked him in an incredibly slow and deep voice, “Areee youuuu alllll
