Chapter 22: The Valley of Death (Minus the Shadow)

Night fell and darkness covered the mountains as the group of seven traveled through a pass to the northeast of the monastery. Fraydon and Sara went on ahead to check the pass while Thendat searched for any form of shelter. Darren looked around uneasily. “It’s quiet…and it shouldn’t be. It may be because of the monastery, but there should be all kinds of life…” He turned to Acerin quickly. “And it’s not because we’re near the valley.” Acerin grinned.

Fraydon and Sara came back. “Nothing up ahead for a mile or so.” Fraydon ran a hand through her hair. “It’s strange, but there’s no sign of life, and no reason why it’s all gone.” Darren nodded silently, thinking. From a distance, Thendat yelled “Found shelter! And it looks good!”

It was a small cave that didn’t go back more than thirty feet. With larger caves, you could never tell what was back in the darkness, but small ones were comfortable and secure. They set up the tents and settled in for the night. The wind whistling through the cave was like a lullaby, hypnotic and relaxing. Even then, they still had two people up at all times, keeping watch. Acerin and Milar stayed awake, Milar carving wood and Acerin thinking to himself.

The next morning was foggy and wet. Not the worst weather for traveling, but certainly not the best. Even after traveling the entire day, they still didn’t get out of the mountain pass before nightfall. Thendat couldn’t find any more caves, so they had to find a small path off to the side before they set up camp. Legerra and Fraydon stayed up, swapping tales of long ago.

The day after was just like the day before. Walking without breaks, and they had just left the mountain range when the sun began to set. Darren stopped them before they went on. “We’re going to set up camp early. If we want to approach the valley during the day, we can’t go any further. And you don’t want to go in at night.” That said, they camped just inside the range for shelter. Darren and Thendat took watch that night, talking in low voices about future plans.

Morning came. They finished their daily chores and sat around a small fire. They were all packed and ready to go, but Darren seemed to hold back. After staring into the fire for a long time, he spoke in a low voice.

“Long ago, when the Valley of Death was just an ordinary valley, there was a village. The people were a nomadic and happy people, but they decided that the valley would suit their needs and desires. And for many years, they were happy. They farmed the land, populated efficiently, and soon the valley was prosperous.”

He stared into the fire for a little longer, then got up and led them towards the valley. “Then the chieftain grew greedy. He sent messengers to bigger cities, offering goods and services in exchange for materials the village didn’t have. He began taxing the villagers severely, and when they couldn’t pay, they were cast out of the village or sold as slaves. Eventually, even the chieftain’s own friends left, and he was all alone. He went to the newly-built forge and poured out his anger and greedy desperation into a mysterious orb he had traded many of his own people to get.”

Darren held up the book taken from the Pilosh library as they walked. “I knew of the village, but the book told of the mysterious orb, the Stone of Naugan. The book told location and background, but didn’t tell any properties of the Stone other than aesthetical. It should be no bigger than your fist, but with thousands of facets.”

Legerra glanced at Darren. “You sound like you’ve been to the valley before.” Darren’s eyes darkened. “Once. There was a war.” They crested a hill and Darren pointed down. “There. Welcome to the Valley of Death.” The mountains surrounded the valley on three sides, leaving only one side open for entry and exit. It seemed impossible to identify anything in the Valley of Death. A lightning bolt split the air and thunder boomed. Milar sighed. “Acerin, it was funny the first three times. After the fifteenth, it’s annoying.”

Acerin’s reply was cut off by Darren’s outstretched hand. “Shh! Do you hear that?” The group looked at each other and all around. Sara extended her senses and could barely hear a faint whisper of movement. “It sounds like…wind?” Thendat strained his eyes and looked off into the distance. “Whatever it is, it’s coming, and incredibly fast.”

Darren started walking down the hill into the valley. “Whatever it is, we can take it. And we might as well find the tree.” The group followed, looking around nervously and ready to fight. They reached the bottom of the hill and grew even more nervous. Fraydon tapped Darren on the shoulder. “A graveyard?” Darren nodded.

The entire valley was one big cemetery, many crosses bent and broken, some new but most old. Gravestones that used to be white now blended in with the dirt. There wasn’t a tree in sight. Sara bent down, looking at a row of relatively new crosses. “These are just wooden stakes driven into the ground. There’s no actual cross.” Darren shrugged.

The group gathered closely. Milar looked around, loosening his sword in its scabbard. “So now what? No trees, branched or branchless. Not one, much less seven.” Darren brushed dirt from a relatively large stone and sat down. “Now…we search. Anything that might pertain to the riddle, anything that looks suspicious, we investigate. We’ll split up, but stay in sight at all times.”

And off they went, throughout the Valley of Death to search for clues. Hours seemed like minutes as the sun moved throughout the sky. None of them knew just why, but they knew they couldn’t stay in the valley at night. They sat the stone Darren had sat on earlier, near the row of stakes. Sara stared through them, not really seeing them, absentmindedly fingering the necklace. Milar had fixed the broken clasp so she could wear it without fear of it falling off. Right when they were leaving, she jumped up.

“The stakes! They’re branchless trees!” The group turned to face her. “What?” “The stakes are made of wood, they don’t have ‘branches’ in the sense that they’re missing a horizontal piece, and a tree is sometimes a religious term for a cross.” Fraydon turned to Darren. “Is that right?” Darren nodded. “It makes sense. But what do we do with it?”

Sara shrugged. “I just work here.” They enjoyed the laugh, but sobered quickly. Legerra looked at the setting sun. “We don’t have much time.” Darren looked at the stakes. “That’s truer than you know.” He walked over and looked at the row of ‘branchless trees.’ Thirteen were lined up, each looking exactly the same as the one next to it. He pointed to the one in the very middle. “That’s the one. Seventh from either side. Now…what to do with it…”

Acerin walked up to it and kicked it. It fell backwards, sounding a distinctive ‘click’ as it hit the ground. Darren glanced at him, slightly annoyed. “What if that hadn’t worked?” Acerin shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt.”

A very slight tremor shook the ground and a nearby patch of ground fell completely away, revealing a very old flight of stairs leading into darkness. Darren motioned them down. “I know night is coming, but we’ll be safer down there than up here.” He led them in, mumbling “At least, I hope so.”

The entrance stayed open, also serving as an exit. They made their way through the rectangular hallway, the walls changing from wet dirt to smooth stone. Runes innumerable covered the walls, making more than one person wonder just what they said. The hallway twisted and turned as they walked onward with weapons drawn; only staying wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Suddenly, the narrow passage split into three separate halls, disappearing into darkness.

Darren stopped and did an about-face. “Alright, people, listen up. We don’t have time to dispute or hesitate. Thendat and I will take the left path. Sara, Milar, and Fraydon take the middle path. Acerin, Legerra, you guys go right. Follow each path as long as you can, until you hit a dead end or it splits again. If it splits again, wait five minutes to see if anyone else from the group comes from a different direction. Under no circumstances are any of you allowed to walk out of sight from someone else. I don’t think I need to tell you why. Go at a steady pace and try to-”

Acerin interrupted with “Darren, don’t you think we ought to get going?” Darren stopped and looked at Acerin. “I’m telling you how to survive, not making idle talk. This place hasn’t been entered at all since it was created. Whatever’s down here is powerful.” Acerin leaned on a wall. “Yeah, so don’t you think we’d better get in and out before whatever it is comes after us, instead of making suggestions on how to walk?”

Darren’s eyes smoldered. “I’m not making suggestions. I’m giving you orders on how we move forward as a group. Consider that if you listen instead of talk, you’ll live longer.” Acerin leaned slightly forward and stared directly into Darren’s eyes, unwilling to back down. “And what would I die of?” “That depends on who and when you choose to mouth off to, boy.” Acerin’s control wavered slightly as his face visibly trembled with the strain of keeping anger under control.

Darren turned to the rest of the group. “Remember, steady pace and try to keep your sense of direction. Go.” He and Thendat walked off to their passage, weapons ready. Everyone else except Acerin and Legerra walked down the middle passage, avoiding eye contact with Acerin. After a few seconds, Acerin stalked off to his passage without a word, Legerra following cautiously.
~
Half an hour later, they met up together down the middle passageway. Legerra scratched his head. “What was the point of that? Our passage went slightly out to the right, and then went straight ahead until we curved left and found you.” Milar was just as confused. “We just went straight ahead. We waited for a few minutes at the intersection until Darren and Thendat got here.” Darren shrugged. “The path split for a reason. The runes were still on the walls, right?” They all nodded. “And there wasn’t any significant change in architecture?” They all shook their heads. “Then I have no idea. It probably means something, but it’s hidden from us. Keep alert.”

Darren and Milar took the front, keeping Sara, Thendat, and Fraydon in the middle while Acerin and Legerra watched their backs. They stopped whenever the slightest noise was made, listening for a solid minute. This continued for many long minutes, until Legerra whispered softly “I have to go to the bathroom!” They turned and looked at him. He shrank down, cringing to avoid being hurt. “Just letting you know. Don’t hurt me…”

Darren rolled his eyes and kept going. Another minute or so and then a slight breeze cooled their faces. They all tensed a little more, gripping their weapons tighter as they proceeded even slower. The hallway walls and ceiling widened and dropped away altogether, opening into a large circular room. A small hole in the very top of the domed roof let in cool air for the seven travelers. The hole centered directly above a raised block of stone with a small stairway leading to it, a long-dead skeleton clutching what they all knew to be the Stone of Naugan in its hands, a gold crown upon its head.

The group spread out by instinct, keeping an eye on the roof and the doorway while checking the room for enemies. Finding none, they met facing the doorway and the block. Darren looked from person to person, waiting until they were ready for anything, and then went up the stairs slowly, hand on his sword. The skeleton’s hands held on tightly, but gave up the fight within seconds.

Darren held up the Stone so they could all see it, showing that it was real. Dropping it into a small purple bag with gold stitching, he rejoined them with a smile. “We got it. Go out the same way you came in.” They made it to the doorway before feeling the wind change. Darren whirled around with his hand on his sword, scanning the room quickly. The hole in the dome, barely lit by starlight, had gone completely dark. Darren motioned them down the hall, backing out after them. “Don’t split up! Take the passage down the middle!” He turned and ran after them, noticing the walls. Runes flaring to life…crap.

Milar and Acerin ran a few feet ahead of the others, making it past the first . Hearing a strange clicking noise, they slowed and warned those behind them. Acerin mumbled to Milar so the others couldn’t hear him. “Great. More wolves.” Milar’s eyes widened as the clicking grew closer. “I almost wish it was more wolves. That’s the sound of skeleton feet.”

The undead were awake. Walking through the hallways with longswords and claymores, they chilled the blood of all they came near. Acerin raised a hand to blast them…and nothing happened. He tried again, fear rising in his throat as he noticed the shining runes. “Darren! Our magic is blocked!” Darren leaped over their heads, slicing the head off a skeleton. No magic…crap.

Milar grabbed a mace from a dead skeleton and joined Darren in front, smashing skeletons to dust. “Come on, Darren. We need to retreat back to the chamber where we found the Stone.” Darren picked up another mace and listened intently to the sounds behind them, heart sinking. “We can’t. They’ve come through the hole in the roof. We’re blocked in both ways. We need to get to the exit.” Milar nodded and methodically moved forward with Darren, bashing left and right.

Legerra and Acerin took the rear, doing their best to slow their pursuers. Thendat fired a few arrows, but even when he hit something it didn’t help, so he stopped. About halfway between the two intersections, the sound of bone on rock ceased. The fighters didn’t let down their guard, waiting for whatever came next.

But nothing happened. Darren edged forward, peering into the darkness. “This can’t be good. The runes are still lit.” He took a step forward and looked further. “No sign of the undead…they’re probably waiting to ambush us at the next crossroads. So we have to move quickly.” The group nodded and followed him.

Darren’s foot touched a tile and sank slightly, a quiet click resounding in the silence. Darren took off running, yelling for the others to move fast. Safeguards…crap.

The hallway shuddered as they ran, dodging arrows fired from small holes in the walls and spikes that shot up from cracks in the stone. Darren and Milar reached the intersection at the same time and flung the maces down the side passages as they ran past, destroying the skeletons waiting and knocking the rest back. The group got through the second intersection and kept running towards the exit, encountering fewer and fewer enemies.

They reached the stairs and bounded up them, the exit noticeably shaking. Darren dove out and rolled into the grass, waiting for the others to exit. When they were all out he got up and looked around. Undead surrounding us completely…crap.

Skeletons of all shapes and sizes formed a large circle around the seven weary travelers, filling the entire valley. Darren turned to Acerin. “This is the Valley of Death at night. Feel like laughing now?” Acerin shrugged and looked at the entrance to the underground tomb. “Wouldn’t it be better to go back inside?” Darren shook his head. “That’s what the side passages were for. Skeletons followed us through every passage, and closed behind us once we fled. There’s nothing down there to help us now.”

The circle opened at the tomb, and the crown-wearing skeleton walked forward. It was strange to hear noise coming from an unmoving jaw, stranger still to not see facial expressions. The voice was slow, ancient, and otherworldly, full of pain and anguish. “Give back my jewel.” Darren’s answer was to unsheathe his sword. The chieftain raised a skeletal hand and Darren’s sword shattered, falling to the ground. In return, Darren raised the hand that had held his sword and the chieftain’s crown split, embedding itself in the skull.

The skeleton lowered its arms, impressed. “You are powerful. But you are also weak.” Darren chuckled. “So that’s what you did with your time. Countless years to spend in thought…and you come up with meaningless paradoxes? You were a shrewd man in dealings a long time ago. I doubt that quality in you has faded. What would you give us for this jewel?”

The chieftain laughed, a thin piercing sound that chilled all who heard it. “I will give you a chance for your lives. If you lay the jewel at my feet, you may run out of the valley, and if you break through the circle, you will not be pursued.” Darren’s eyes narrowed. “And if we don’t give you the stone?” The chieftain didn’t hesitate. “Then if by some chance you do escape, my untiring legions will pursue you until you die.”

Darren smiled suddenly. “Oh, well that makes the choice easy.” The chieftain nodded. Darren kept smiling. “I guess we have to turn every last one of you into dust, then.” The chieftain’s voice filled with rage. “Then you will face every last one of us alone, for your foolishness.” The chieftain raised both arms, and every living being except Darren floated into the air and stayed there against their will, encased in separate prisons of transparent crystal. Darren’s smile slowly turned to a grimace. Fighting alone…crap. He shook his head, bracing himself.

The chieftain stepped back as the circle of weapon-wielding skeletons began slowly closing. Darren looked around for a weapon, not finding anything other than the broken crosses. Great. I have stakes, and I don’t see any vampires. The land was featureless, without a stone or branch in sight.

He sighed and concentrated, bringing his power close to him. The familiar aura enveloped him and he channeled it into ethereal claws two feet long. Gripping them tightly, he waited until the first skeleton was close, then rushed forward and slashed. The long claws cleaved the white bone like paper, easily destroying it and preventing the skeleton from rising again.

The imprisoned group watched Darren cut a swathe of destruction through the undead minions, breaking out of the circle and heading for the valley exit. Acerin snorted. “Why’s he running?” Milar glanced at him. “He wouldn’t abandon us. He’s got something planned.” They continued their futile efforts to break free.

Darren stopped at the top of the valley and slowly turned around, watching the undead move towards him, a sea of rattling bone and steel. More power went into the claws until they radiated light, and then he blazed down towards the valley. The claws gathered more energy as he crossed them over his chest and ran down, growing brighter. Just before he ran into the first skeleton, he came to a complete and sudden stop, bringing the claws from his chest outward to his sides, sending a wave of energy through the dense crowd.

The effect was just what he was hoping for. Skeletons didn’t fear or work in teams, and so they didn’t think about what the one next to them was doing. As the energy cut through them, they just kept walking into it, only a dozen or so of the stronger ones escaping the deadly effects. Darren took his time walking down, gathering even more energy.

The twelve stronger skeletons fanned out, but didn’t attack. Forming a circle, they surrounded the chieftain and laid down their weapons. They were slowly drawn into the chieftain in a mass of dirt and bone, molding with him to make some stronger creature. A hideous thing born of darkness emerged, power radiating from it. Darren kept walking, waiting for it to come to him.

Finally, they met in an explosion of furious movement. Darren was sent flying back, but quickly regained his balance in mid-air and landed on his feet, running towards the monster again. One of its many arms lashed out and was cut off, but another knocked him back again. The monster gathered dark magic and sent small amounts from every direction. Darren’s claws disappeared and he shielded himself from the attack, sending some in return.

They fought with magic and various weapons for hours, both growing weary and unwilling to stop. Eventually, Darren lashed out with a long strand of fire, slashing through one of the creature’s legs. As it fell, it shot the other one out and knocked him off balance, using a long bony finger to puncture his magic barrier and impale him. The imprisoned six collectively gasped.

Darren was left in stunned pain as the finger pulled out, leaving a hole in his chest. He fell to his knees, struggling to stand. The monster used what was left of its arms to start crawling towards Darren, slowly and triumphantly.

Sara pressed against the translucent wall, mouth open in a scream nobody else could hear. Darren looked up at his friends, vision slightly blurry. And now I’m dying…crap. This day just keeps getting worse and worse. The maimed skeleton summoned fifty of its kind, lesser in form and fighting ability. “These will be my witness as I reclaim what is mine.” Darren fought to keep his eyes open as the monster kept crawling toward him and the skeletons stood off to one side, watching.

Sara shook her head as tears streamed down her face. No matter how much magic she summoned, it still wasn’t enough to break free. She grasped the necklace, feeling the clasped orb dig into her palm. She pulled it out and stared at the light blue orb, remembering the dark color it had been. Dark red…a piece of the Staff of Magnus? She wiped her eyes and looked harder. It had been a piece of the orb…but only Darren had the pieces.

Suddenly it all made sense. The reason he didn’t try to comfort her after the monastery was because he knew his feelings would show, not because he didn’t want her crying on his shoulder. The reason the necklace always seemed full of energy was because of the orb. He had pretended he didn’t send the necklace. He had been surprised, but that was only because he had no idea the necklace was so powerful with the piece attached. He hid his feelings so well…and I was a fool. I didn’t want his help…I wanted to try to survive on my own…when his help was his only way of expressing his feelings…Her body shook as more tears flowed.

A voice resounded in her head. {Sara…} She could no longer see through the crystal; her vision was so badly blurred. {Darren…why didn’t you tell me?} {I’m sorry…I never was good at expressing my feelings…even back…in Silver…Lake…ow.} Sara wiped her eyes, clearing her vision enough to see the monster still crawling towards Darren.

{Sara…it’s not just that I’m bad at communication…can you imagine…what it would be like…to get close to somebody…knowing…ow…knowing full well that they would die…and you would live…and the pain both of you would suffer...knowing that one thing would be…unimaginable…why would…the immortal…person…choose to do that…?}

Sara struggled to take a deep breath, but was choked by a sob. {It would be foolish. That person would be crazy, Darren.}

{Sara…love makes sane people…do crazy things…}

Sara slammed her hand against the transparent wall repeatedly, screaming with anger at her own helplessness, at her own faults and inability to see what was concealed. The scream built until it hit a pitch unheard by normal ears, cracking the spell’s weave. At that moment, she realized the control was gone. She was doing the exact same thing Darren had at the cathedral, and she couldn’t stop it.

All the emotion that Sara had pent up inside of her flowed into the orb, and it responded. The necklace was making its true power known. Her crystal prison cracked and shattered as light blasted out in rays of magic. The monster felt its spell break and turned to see what had happened, at the same time that the rest of the group moved in their containment to get a better view.

Sara floated gently above the ground. Darren raised his head with considerable effort. To his eyes, her form seemed to be changing. At first glance she seemed to be completely robed and hooded all in white, feet bare. When he blinked, the image shifted to that of a woman dressed for battle in full armor, with a shining sword. Eventually it all came together as one, a white-robed woman with ethereal wings and sword of light.

The huge skeleton sent the minions after the new opponent, trying to grab the Stone and get away. Sara swung her sword, pure light pulsing from the tip and slicing its arm off at the shoulder. The monster roared with pain and turned to face her, the minions almost upon her. Darren watched the battle, clutching his chest as pieces of skeletons flew over his head. Searing light finished the last of the minions and Sara strode towards the large but weakened monster.

Every attack it threw at her was deflected with ease. Whatever was not deflected was absorbed and used against the dark creature. It was fighting a losing battle, and it knew it. In one last attempt for the stone, it dove desperately towards Darren, bony arms outstretched. Sara disappeared and instantly reappeared between the two and Darren’s eyes widened. Instant teleportation? That power doesn’t exist even in relics!

The sword of light disappeared, and Sara reached out with magic, grabbing both the skeleton’s arms. Bending them until they snapped, she threw the creature on the ground farther away from Darren. Slowly she floated over to the skeleton, arms outstretched and white light gathering until it seemed that there wasn’t a single shadow to be found in the entire valley.

The release of such power sent Sara flying back next to Darren, consuming the monster, the graves, destroying the tomb and runes, even lifting the unnatural fog. A smoking crater was all that remained of most of the valley. The light from Sara’s blast would illuminate the valley for weeks. She landed next to Darren, laying a hand on his wound and another on his head. Darren winced as feeling returned to his body, pain felt became pain remembered, his flesh closed, and he opened his eyes to see Sara in her own form, clothed in the traveling style at the time.

He reached up and cupped her face in his hand. “We’re both crazy. You know that, right?” Sara smiled, tears of sorrow mixing with tears of joy. He sat up, bringing her close, whispering into her ear. She wiped her eyes and he gently brushed her hair out of her face, kissing her until she forgot why she was crying.

The rest of the group was released from their imprisonment and fell to the ground, weary from efforts to break out of it. They started walking towards the two, stopped short by a barrier of some sort.

Legerra groaned. “So not only do we have to wait to leave this place, we have to watch them make out now?” Acerin glanced at him, a small smile playing on his lips. “Hey, keep watching. You might learn something.” He dodged Legerra’s punch easily.

Darren laid back down to relax, his tone light. “Any questions about how I feel?” Sara smiled, her tone matching his. “Not now…but I’m sure I’ll have some later.” Darren laughed, standing up and dropping the barrier. The group stumbled towards them, barely able to stand. Thendat crossed his arms. Darren shrugged helplessly. “Alright, so I wasn’t completely honest with all of you guys. Can you blame me?” They couldn’t.

Darren spent the next fifteen minutes explaining, as they walked out of the valley and towards their old camp, what had gone on at the monastery and how he had deceived all of them. They were a little upset, naturally, but they understood in the end.

Fraydon spoke up. “Who was the person Sara became? She did the same thing you did with Delis, didn’t she?” Darren nodded. “Close to that. The necklace belonged to Larauc, remember? Sara’s emotions summoned Larauc to aid her, just as mine summoned Delis. The only difference lies in the hierarchy of power.”

Acerin glanced at Sara. “Yeah, but that type of power isn’t found in normal spirits, or even in high immortals. That’s only found in saints, those with immense power.” He looked at Darren, suspicion growing in his mind. “Who was Larauc?”

Darren shook his head in amazement, not hearing the question. “The necklace responded with such power to Sara’s emotional outpouring…Mine was at the cathedral and even that didn’t summon a saint…I didn’t expect Larauc herself to be summoned, and I certainly wouldn’t expect it to happen again. Neither would I recommend it.” Acerin raised his voice slightly. “Answer the question, Darren. Who was Larauc?”

Darren smiled. “A warrior, a white-robed woman, and a healer…Larauc was the patron saint of love.”
- posted by Nick @ 5/11/2004 10:30:00 AM