Chapter 5.2: Giant's Bane Pt II

The two kings emerged from the portal to greeted by arctic winds that stuff their faces like needles. The sun glared off the snow making it shine bright as diamonds. James walked towards the edge of a cliff then kicked a small pebble down into the cavern below and watched it vanish into the darkness below.

'James I found a gate', Gabriel said loudly.

James walked over to where Gabriel was, and saw what type of obstacle halted their journey.

'How the hell do we open it up?' James asked, knocking on the gate lightly.

'No idea. There aren't any levers or buttons to open it up either,' said Gabriel.

James walked to the other side of the gate inspecting it thoroughly. He looked along a wall then found a pressure plate embedded in the mountain wall. He pressed the button and a large circle with the norse rune "uruz" appeared beneath where Gabriel stood. James walked back to the front of the gate as an inscription appeared on the steep gate door:

"I hate goblins"

'I hate goblins?' What the hell does that mean?'

James got his answer.

From within the cavern that James kicked the pebble down, a small being climbed upwards. Its skin was light-blue, red goat eyes with a bald head and pointed ears.

Gabriel threw an ax that embedded itself flew through the goblins eyes splitting the head vertically. Gray matter and green blood splashed on the ground melting the snow around it.

James saw the blood start flowing of its own accord filling the rune only ten percent of it up.

More children sized goblins started rushing towards the two kings like feral savages with the low level intelligence to match. But what they lacked in intellect, they made up for it with strength and numbers.

Unfortunately for the goblins it did not make a difference to James or Gabriel.

James swung his ax, slicing off three heads at once. One goblin ran past the dead decapitated heads rolled away trying to go for James' ankles. Gabriel grabbed the goblin by the neck, then with a simple twist of his wrist he broke the neck tossing the limp body away like the trash it was.

'Blood! The rune needs blood!' James yelled over the battle.

'How was supposed to know that?', Gabriel yelled back while crushing a goblin beneath his feet, splattering blood in all directions.

James chopped off legs of a goblin then sliced open the stomach of another.

'So you didn't see the blood being drawn to the circle below us!'

'Oh my bad if I wasn't paying attention to what is beneath us! I'm more worried about the meth head, coked up goblins that want to kill us!'

Gabriel ripped off an arm of a goblin then used it as a club against the others. He swung with all his taking the jaw one goblin, turned then swung upwards separating the head from its body.

Gabriel glanced down to see that the rune was now full.

'I think it's full James', Gabriel said.

'Then why do these fuckers keep coming!?', asked James.

'I don't know,' Gabriel responded as he punched a hole through a goblins chest, crushing its heart.

Red lightning began to strike down on the goblins making them explode like balloons.

Gabriel tossed the arm he was using away then wiped the blood off his hands. The gate began to rise upwards and a cold draft came blowing out. Gabriel looked down to see his gauntlets crackle in small arcs of black lightning.

'Yo! You comin?', James asked.

'Ja, ja, beeil dich nicht.'

The gate began to close behind the two kings. Gabriel turned back to see two ravens perched on a goblins dead body as the gate slammed shut.

...

Inside the mountain was surprisingly hollow. The abandoned infrastructure was that of mine that once produced the sounds of hammer to anvil, no longer existed. Yet none of the tools that were used by the miners showed signs of rust or decay. Everything was in pristine condition, as if James' inheritance of Camelot had reset the mountain itself.

'Marcus would sure love this,' said Gabriel.

'I thought Marcus was an assassin?' James questioned.

Gabriel nodded his head. 'Yeah but, about a year ago he stumbled upon an NPC that claimed to have studied under the smith gods.'

James gave Gabriel a puzzled look.

'Which smith god exactly?' James asked.

'Vulcan, Hephaestus, and one I haven't even heard of before. Ogun.'

'Ogun?'

'Yeah. Apparently, according to Marcus, Ogun was the first blacksmith god to ever exist. He helped make the blueprints for the weapons the demi-gods and the gods used in battle.'

'You think this place could be Oguns' forge?, James asked.

Gabriel picked up a baseball sized clump of platinum that shined brightly against the light beamed down into the mine.

'I was just thinking that myself, James. I am beginning to wonder if this game is too realistic.'

James thought back to the conversation he had with his mysterious friend.

'Well if it was. There is no way you could actually beat Björn.'

Gabriel laughed loudly. 'And my you wouldn't be Able to fight a dragon whose wings turn night into day'.

The mountain began to shake and the two kings immediately went back to back. Gabriel's fists were cloaked in black electricity. James' in a slight crouched position, ax at the ready.

A moment of silence passed. Neither of them dared to even shift slightly.

'Clear?'

'Clear.'

They both relaxed but stayed on alert.

'Let's keep moving', James stated.

Gabriel grunted in response then took the lead position with James following a few paces behind.

Only a few hours had passed since Gabriel and James entered the mountain. Twice they had hit a dead end which unfortunately they had to retrace their steps. This place truly was a mine and neither of them had a map to this man-made labyrinth of twist and turns.

James let Gabriel take the lead after they had both learned that the gauntlets Gabriel wore would crackle with small arcs of lighting if they were going the right way. After effortlessly dispatching a small band of goblins, the two kings came into an area the size of a small town. Bones of various animal species littered that area and crushed to dust under James' and Gabriel's feet as they walked further into the belly of the mountain.

The place had long been abandoned by whoever stayed and the only evidence that there was life were three enormous pillars on the far side of the mountain. In the center between the three pillars was a platform wider than the Roman Colosseum itself, yet as Gabriel got closer to the platform it did not show any signs of battle at all.

Instead there were indents of footprints a hundred times that of a normal human.

'This is weird,' said James aloud.

'What is?,' Gabriel asked.

'These pillars have giant rings embedded on the tops of them.'

Gabriel looked to see the rings were pointed at a downward angle. Two of the rings faced away from the platform. In front of the platform was the same size ring that seemed to appear as Gabriel faced it. He stepped off the platform and the ring vanished.

'Yo the rings vanished!', James exclaimed.

Gabriel stepped back on the platform and the rings appeared.

'I think I see how this works,' he shouted. 'You have to turn the pillars so the rings face the platform.'

'I don't see a way. Nevermind! Found a lever.'

James started with the Egyptian pillar on the far left and began to push the lever. The pillar turned with the ring facing towards the platform. A loud click came from the pillar which halted James from pushing anymore. The other two pillar rings now faced in opposite directions.

'I see how this works now,' said James.

He jogged over to the far right Greek pillar then pushed once again. The Norse pillar and the Greek pillar both turned with the rings still facing away from the platform. James pushed again and the Greek pillar locked in place facing the platform. James arrived at the Norse pillar then gave it a half turn. Another loud click.

Success!

The rings began to glow a golden light as Nordic runes appeared on the platform around Gabriel.

'More norse runes appeared James. Also another inscription. Like the on the gate,' said Gabriel.

'Well what do they say?'

'Uruz. Gebo. Algiz. Eihwaz. Nauthiz. I value strength and trust. Prove your strength. Burden the weight of the world while your friend guards you.

Time limit: 5 minutes.'

Gold chains quickly appeared from the rings coiling around Gabriel's waist and wrists. The pillars vanished leaving the giant rings floating in mid-air as if held by an invisible hand. The ceiling of the mountain vanished as a universe! An actual universe that encompassed the surrounding area in stars, colorful nebulae of space, and planets that orbited their sun's, came floating down.

James and Gabriel were stunned. Frozen in awe from the beauty they have only read in books and seen blurry images on the internet.

Yet here they were. Standing, one would might say, in the center of the universe.

James reached out and his hand went through a nebula that shined like precious gems. Star streams gently brushed against his shaven head like the winds of a warm summer's eve.

'Please tell me you're getting all this Gabriel?'

'I've been streaming since we arrived outside the mountain.' Gabriel gently picked the universe and it solidified at his touch.

"Unreal" thought Gabriel.

James walked through this unbelievable experience to the frontside of the platform where Gabriel faced the entrance from which that had entered. Inspecting the chains, a revelation dawned upon him. This place was no town at all.

'This place is a prison', James whispered.

'Für wen?', asked Gabriel.

'Atlas.'

Chills went down their spines.

James was correct. This place was a prison.

And they were not alone.