The Fallen World

Kronos - Part 2

     There were several doors on either side of the corridor, all made of gleaming steel, protected from rust and decay by the magics that permeated them. One end of the corridor came to a dead end, a rough wall of rock as if they were underground and the corridor was a tunnel that its builders might have wanted to extend one day. The other end of the corridor had another corridor crossing it from left to right, however, and looking down it the wizard saw that it contained more doors, as well as the entrances to more corridors. There was no way of telling how far the complex extended without exploring it completely, but it was big without a doubt and probably contained several hundred teleportation cubicles, making it many times larger than the one owned by the Fellowship of the Golden Griffin. It was lit by a soft light that seemed to emanate equally from floor, walls and ceiling.

     “I wonder where this place is,” said Jerry, examining the plaque above the door which, once upon a time, had said where this particular teleportation chamber led to. “I mean, exactly where in the world are we right now?”

     “No way of telling,” replied Thomas. “Probably somewhere within the boundaries of the Kingdom of Agglemon, though, Oh Hell!” They all looked at each other nervously as the same thought hit them all simultaneously.

     “You mean we’re within the Shadow?” asked Diana fearfully.

     “Not only that,” continued Thomas, his face growing pale. “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we’re right in the middle of Arnor itself. I mean, when you think about it, that’s the most logical place to put the centre of the teleportation network, right? In the middle of your capital city.”

     “So why can’t we feel the effects of the Shadow?” asked Lirenna doubtfully. “If you’re right, we should all have been driven insane the moment we arrived here.”

     “Maybe we’re underground,” suggested Jerry. “We know that the Shadow only affects the surface, since part of the Underworld goes right under the Shadow and isn’t affected by it.”

     “Or alternatively I might be wrong and we’re nowhere near the Shadow,” added Thomas. “In its heyday, many of the most important parts of the old Empire were south of the Great Lake. We might be in Old Mala, for instance.”

     “I hope so,” said Douglas, “because I’ve got the feeling that we are indeed underground, it's an instinct all trogs are born with, and if we are underground there must once have been an exit from this place, when it were being built. That tunnel may have been sealed up at both ends, but it probably still exists, and if the Shads should find it...”

     “Yeah,” agreed Thomas. “Just think what they could do with a teleportation network that extends everywhere where the Empire had a province. That would include Samnia, Haldorn, Clandania, Garon, Astaro...” His voice trailed off in horror.

     “If we are under Arnor,” said Lirenna nervously, “is there any chance they could detect the use of the teleportation chambers?”

     “That depends on how far underground we are,” replied Thomas. “Since we can’t feel the effects of the Shadow, my guess is that there’s enough rock above us to hide us from any normal means of magical detection. Have you got any idea how far underground we are, Douglas?”

     The trog was looking around at the walls and ceiling and scratching his wrinkled, hairless chin thoughtfully. “Hard to tell,” he said after a while. “Two, maybe three hundred feet. Angus would be able to give you a better idea.”

     As if summoned by the mention of his name, Angus and Shaun returned at precisely that moment. “No good,” replied the trog. “It leads to a small underground chamber, and the only way out’s blocked by a rockfall. The ceiling’s unstable, any attempt to dig our way out will cause more rockfalls. There’s no way out that way.”