Ch 5 What the Puck

Ch5

What the Puck

     The flame from my palm extinguished as I flailed my arms, swinging them in front of me to brake my fall. There was weight on my back, as whatever scratched me attempted to attach itself to my person. My arms were not ready for this and gave out. My back erupted with pain as the creature on my back kicked and clawed me furiously.

    Flush with adrenalin I thrashed. My bestial essence infused my body with Ki fortifying meagainst the assault. I managed to rock my body enough to free one of my arms. Elbowing back with all of the strength I could muster there was a solid pop as I connected with something.

     NNNNNRRRRRLLLLLL

Sharp pain erupted through my elbow. It felt as though I had

just elbowed something with a mawl of razors in the face. More pain rake

through my back as the creature dug its claws in to my back.

     The creature on my back wasn't overly heavy, my elbowing it had shifted it's position to where I could now push myself off of the floor. Despite the pain I managed to struggle into a kneeling position. Calling my semper I leaned my head to the side and grabbed for the creature. 

     A loud agonized shriek filled the room, echoing off of the walls as I grabbed ahold of the creature. My thumb and middle finger gouged into it's eyes, there was a wet rush of fluid over my hand. The creature released me.

     Rapidly I shifted, using my grip on the creature's face I twisted, shoving the beast off. The creature howled with pain as it clutched at its now flaming face. The flames illuminated the body of the beast. What it revealed was rather hideous.

     The creature had a face reminiscent of what might happen if you mixed a human with a shrew. Despite the flesh which was now melting off, it was possible to make out the distinct set of jagged teeth it had.  The creature had a squat round body. It's back was covered in spikes similar to those of a hedgehog. The arms were disproportionately long and had human like hands which were tipped in gnarly looking claws.

     It's shrieks turned to whimpers, then faint moans, before ceasing altogether as the purpleflames began to spread down it's carcass. Quickly, before the fire could spreadand consume the corpse I jerked out a few of its quills. The stench in the roomwas nearly unbearable. It smelled like someone took a dead body, slathered it with rotten fruit and then set it on fire.

     Breathing through my nose to avoid gagging I looked around. The dense smoky fog from earlier was gone. The roaring flame consuming the creatures body licked the walls, covering them with blueish purple hues.

     There was brokenmbits of pottery all over. Moving around the space I lit the braziers I came across. By the time the flames from the body started to die down the eight braziers of the space were illuminated. 

     Walking over to the base of the desiccated tree I noticed something shining from the roots, where it protruded through the stone floor. Curious, I knelt down and held my right hand forward, illuminating my semper. There was a round stone of some sort lodged into the roots.  

     The stone appeared to be black and had an obsidian like sheen. Reaching for my hip, I pulled out a dagger. Leaning forward I dissipated the flames from my palm. Grabbing the stone I froze.

     Energy shot through me. It was vibrant and oddly full of life as our energies connected. I found myself temporarily unable to move.

     Images began to dance in my head. The first thing I saw was the face of an elleth. She had pointed elegant features, even though her face bore a pinched expression.  

     "Te horìn, redaich."

      I jumped, jerking my hand away from the stone. I couldn't tell if those words were only in my head or spoken aloud. Pain radiated through my back and I groaned. The adrenaline from my skirmish was wearing off and

my new wounds were starting to ache.

      Ignoring the pain I used my dagger to hack away at the roots. Bits of dried, stone like wood flew everywhere. By the time I chipped away enough petrified wood that I was confident I could free the stone I was covered in a pain induced sweat.

      Despite the pain I found myself unable to stop, even for what would be much needed rest. Grinding my teeth I jammed my dagger in between the stone and the rocky root matrix it was still stuck in. I vigorously worked the dagger back and forth until the stone gave with a satisfying pop. 

     Re-sheathing my dagger I grabbed the stone. Pulling it from the floor my jaw fell open in shock. In my palm was a skull.  

     The skull was mesmerizing. Even in near total darkness the stone surface had a rainbow sheen. It was reminiscent of how oil shined in water while it was sunny outside. My body began to positively vibrate with energy. It rolled over me in dry, near choking waves. 

     "M' eicadian 'sh riosdi," The voice spoke again.  

     It had to be speaking an elder version of elvish. I did not recognize the dialect. Giving a dry cough I stared down at the stone skull in my hand.   

     "Ni ryuma," The skull's voice echoed both in my mind and off of the walls. 

     Energy washed over me like the dry sand kicked up by a storm. It stung as it permeated my personhood. Despite the pain I couldn't move and I could hardly drawn in enough air to make a sound. My head felt like there was a tornado ripping through my mind.  

     Thousands of images flashed before my mind's eye. Some so brief I could hardly perceive them while others burn brightly for so long it was impossible to ignore them. My aching body could do little more than hold the same position as untold amounts of information funneled through my system.

     "Understand me you should." The voice from the skull echoed through my head.

     I could only manage a weak whimper in response to the skull.

    "My guardian you killed." The eye sockets of the skull were glowing with an unsettling green.

     "Guardian?" I looked over at the pile of Ash. "That thing attacked me." 

     "Trying to protect me he was." The skull answered.  

     "Protect you?" I blinked looking around the portal chamber. "From what?" 

     "Enemy hands."  

     The image of a black hole filled my mind. It felt as if I were being sucked into a whirlpool, except for I was rooted in spot. At the center in the darkness two sinister eyes made of swirling galaxies glared angrily back at me.

     "Daewen," A deep rumbling voice called out.

     A sensation of dread filled me. I didn't have the air in my lungs to scream. A sense of terror washed over me.

     Fight it you idiot. My bestial essence growled.

     My body infused with ki as I clung to the beast for strength. It felt as though I was swimming through angry rapids. It was only the ki which helped me fight the current. Ki made those capable of utilizing it physically stronger in times of need.

     Who knows how much time passed before I managed to fight the currents enough that I could no longer see those terrifying eyes. When I finally found myself back in the temple holding the obsidian skull I was desperately gasping for air. 

     It felt as if I had just shaken hands with death. My body was covered in a cold sweat  and I was trembling.  I felt too weak to move.  

     What the fuck was that? I projected to my bestial essence. 

     Leviathan My beast nearly hissed.  

     What is a Leviathan?

      The eater of all! My beast growled.  

     "What the fuck did you just get me into?"  

     "Into nothing of my design," The skull said dryly. "Take me with you, you must." 

     "Something tells me I don't have a choice," I mustered in a weak irritated voice.  

     "Seen you it has," the skull warned. "Hunt you it will."  

     Great. I groaned internally.   

     "How am I going to get you up the ladder?"   

     I left my pack on the first floor of the pyramid. The lower pockets of my pants might fit the skull, if the opening were a bit wider. Grabbing my  dagger I cut open the top of my pocket. It took a fair bit of straining before I managed to force the skull into my pocket. With the way it was now half hanging off of my pants I had serious doubts about getting it through the small rift in the stairwell. Let alone up the ladder. My only hope was that Juan had managed to dig out the stairwell without collapsing the entire hall.  

     "Did you and your guardian come through that portal?" I asked the skull. 

     "Yes."  

     "How?" 

     "Magic." 

     "You expect me to believe that your guardian was able to cast a spell strong enough to over charge that dead cell enough for it to function in it's capacity as a portal?" 

     I turned and started walking from the chamber.  

     "Hard to believe, a nutritor wielding the flame of a phoenix says." The skull retorted. 

     "Quiet you." I said making my way through the entertainment chamber. 

     My purple flame had started to melt through the bowl of the braziers. The problem with a Semper ignus,is that it could burn its way through most substances. This temple became an structurally compromised when I lit the first brazier.  

     The skull had to have planned for thus somehow. It could be no accident that I had found this stars forsaken thing. It had to have known about Tower. There was no way it didn't anticipate the investigation that the portal's activation would cause. 

     "Hear me they won't," The skull said casually. "Too weak to perceive me their souls are."  

     "They will certainly hear me talking though."  

     "Can hear your thoughts I can." The skull said casually. "No need to talk." 

     I'm not sure I find this comforting. I groaned internally.  

     Don't trust that fucking thing. My bestial essence growled. 

     "Settle beast." The skull commanded. 

     My bestial essence retreated while still growling. It did not trust the skull. It was furious about the fact that we touched it.  

     Heeding both the skull and the beast I began retracing my steps through the pyramid. I knew if a corridor was dark it was a waste of time to enter as it would not lead me to the exit. I was relying in the state of the braziers. My Semper would consume the small braziers in 4-6 hours and the large central ones in 8-10. The small wall sconces would be gone in under 3 hours. The Semper would spread to the surrounding stone and begin to consume it. Only the collapse of the building into the springs below would put the Semper out.