King of Dust

Chapter 14

Down, down, down we went, down seemingly endless flights of stairs into inky darkness. I did not think it was possible that it could get any darker, and even I had trouble seeing. As we went into the black, Astrid's hand in mine, I felt goosebumps shoot up her skin. The chanting grew louder, making it hard to even think. Now that we were close enough to hear, the voices became clear.

"Clouds shall cover. Metal shall rust. The land shall return to those born from dust."

Honestly, it sounded like a bunch of phooey to me. When we came to the bottom of the stairs, Astrid's torch lit the room, casting a golden light onto all its dirty secrets. The walls were pocked with alcoves stuffed with worthless junk, like a cloak made from some kind of skin, a dagger of bone, and someone's lucky goblin claw.

"Wow, what a load of worthless crap," I muttered.

"Indeed," Urien confirmed. "If they thought these relics held any magick, they were, uh,... dead wrong."

Yra snorted out constricted laughter before belting out full force, wrapping his arms about himself as he doubled over. "D-Dead wrong?" he chortled. "It's because th-they're all dead, huh?"

Urien simply looked at him, unamused, before turning to another hallway. "We must keep going. We'll find this monster eventually."

"If there even is a monster," Astrid whispered.

The hallway beyond was flooded, the tunnel blocked by a rusty iron portcullis. Heavy as hell, and the lever was on the other side.

"Let's lift it," Yra suggested. As he pulled against the heavy iron thing, his face shifted from its usual placidity to some kind of half-baked flush, not quite the red of Human cheeks due to the lack of his own blood. "Darius, help me," he barked.

"Nice way to ask," I scoffed under my breath.

The two of us were able to lift the gate with no difficulty at all, and soon we were beyond the blockade. A sunken room lay ahead, completely flooded with the murkiest, foulest-smelling water I had ever encountered. The chanting was at its loudest in this room, repetitive and meaningless.

"Clouds shall cover. Metal shall rust. The land shall return to those born from dust."

The portcullis fell closed behind us with a clang, and as soon as it splashed into the water the chanting stopped, the only sound the echoing of dripping water.

"Well, that's not ominous," Yra muttered.

"On your guard," Urien commanded. "Stacking order."

We did as he asked, and Astrid shifted to her place behind me. I hummed a folk tune my mother had sung to me when I was but a babe, and my crisp warbling rung around the space. The smooth, flat walls provided perfect acoustics. Pillars dotted the room systematically, holding the heavy weight of the house up above us, and a singular dais stood above the water in the center. Chains dangled threateningly over the platform, swinging idly even though there was no wind.

"Would you cut out that humming?" Yra demanded. "Knock it off."

As we stepped closer, the dais came into clearer view. Creatures of stone clambered out of the water, ghouls clawing upward as if hoping to grab the chains and use them to hoist up out of the muck. It was an eerie sight, certainly, but I had seen better craftsmanship.

"No monster," Urien noted.

"Now what?" Astrid's voice bounced around the room.

"Let's see if there are any other secret paths out of this room. Yra, Darius, investigate whatever... that is in the corner. Astrid, with me."

That, the thing that Urien was referring to, was a pile of trash on the south side of the room. How offensive. If he got her killed, I would never forgive him. Before Yra and I even made it a few steps in the direction of the area that I was supposed to investigate, Urien and Astrid had stepped up onto the dais. In one great puff of wind, her torch blew out.

I was about to panic, but something happened. Orange light oozed from the walls above us, and thirteen shadowy figures materialized out of nothing, standing on raised platforms above the pool, torches in their hands. "Return to dust," one muttered.

"Return to dust," said another.

"Return to dust!"

"Return to dust!"

"Return to dust!"

Yra looked around the room, a touch of shock on his face. It was the first real thing I had seen him do all day. "You don't think... they want us to sacrifice something?"

"Return to dust! Return to dust!"

"Oh, absolutely not," Urien scoffed.

The cultists did not listen.

"They are nothing more than illusions," Urien continued. "Don't fall for it. Did you find anything in that corner, boys?"

"Haven't checked yet," I replied.

"Here. Come, Astrid. Let's join them."

The two of them stepped off the dais and the orange light puffed out, leaving the entire room in dripping darkness. And then, as if out of nowhere, a voice boomed...

"The Decayed one, Master of Death, will feed tonight."

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