Swordborn

Chapter 22: The Descent

Ifernach folds his leathery wings around his back, forming a small space for the party between them. He leans into the freezing wind, then dives through the hole into the icy world below. Azaya screams as they fall, then laughs as Ifernach spreads his wings and glides through the clouds. Dayleth looks up, expecting to see a ceiling of rock above them, but to her surprise she sees only sky. Have we entered another plane? She wonders. Another dimension? Where is the land of eternal war?

They soar half a league above the tundra, then Azaya points to a frozen river. Dayleth directs Ifernach to follow the river, then the dragon veers right and descends until he's gliding over ice.

"What did Zulon say?" Cain asks Azaya.

"He said 'go no farther'," Azaya replies.

"That's all?"

"That's all."

"Then how do you know which way to go?"

"When I called to him he took several moments to answer. But the connection was made, and I saw his thoughts. He was remembering, and in his memories I saw the path he took through the Abyss. He's gone deep, through many layers, many worlds. He battled giant monsters, traveled through darkness and fire, now he's somewhere below, in the depths of this oblivion. He told me not to come after him, but I sensed more than his words. I felt his heart reaching out. He's alone down there, and he needs me."

"We're on our way!" Dayleth shouts over the icy wind. "We'll find him!"

The frozen river empties into a lake as large as a sea. They glide over the lake, and soon they no longer see the snow-covered forest on the shore, only a smooth sheen of ice that goes on forever.

"There!" Azaya shouts, pointing down at the ice. Dayleth scans the lake and sees a circular patch of ice that's darker than the rest.

"Under the ice?" Dayleth shouts.

"Yes!" Azaya replies excitedly. "Zulon broke through the ice... there!"

Ifernach flies directly over the dark patch then dives straight into it. He folds his wings back, falling with incredible speed, smashing through the surface of the lake. Ice shatters all around them, crashing into Dayleth's armor, deflecting away from Azaya and Cain.

Under the ice is a dark chasm. A waterfall descends around the perimeter of the opening, the water frozen in mid flow, forming a circular ice tunnel that leads into darkness. Ifernach dives through the ice tunnel, and they fall deeper into the unknown.

The ice tunnel ends abruptly. Cain looks back and sees the blue light of the ice lake growing dim, until it's a tiny dot, then it's gone. He looks ahead and sees only black. Where are we now? He wonders.

"What do you see?" He calls ahead to Dayleth. Her eyes have switched to night vision, but all she sees is gray glow in every direction.

"There's nothing down here!" Dayleth calls back to him, which fills Cain with dread. He'd rather there was something, anything, because then he could form a plan. But the fact they're surrounded by nothing makes him feel helpless.

Ifernach spreads his wings and levels off, then maintains a slow descent. Dayleth sees a dark shape approaching. The shape grows larger until a giant shadow fills the gray haze beside them.

A huge elongated mouth emerges from the shadows a mere hundred paces away, opening wide enough to close completely around the dragon. Ifernach veers right in an attempt to evade the massive jaws, barely escaping between fangs the size of oaks. The maw snaps shut behind them, creating heavy turbulence.