The Dreadful Hunt Page 7

  Even though the cemetery was a huge part of the grove, a giant tree stood at one end, its gnarled black limbs all but barren of leaves.

  “Do you think you could climb that?” he asked, gesturing at the twisted branches. “Without falling, I mean.”

  Kaylin sniffed. “I don’t fall that often.” She paused and thought for a second. “Do I?”

  “You fall…an unusual amount for an elf,” Vexx attempted diplomatically. Already, he could feel his stamina returning. He stepped around the smoldering corpse of a burrower and made his way over to the tree. The dwarves spread out to shield him like his own personal bodyguards.

  “Well, that might have something to do with the curse.”

  “Curse?”

  “Yes, I was cursed as a child,” Kaylin said casually, “by a witch like the one in the maze here.”

  Vexx scratched his chin, then he shrugged. Kaylin took off her pack and rummaged through it to grab a tree snare. She whipped it around, tossing it up and snagging a tree limb. “Here goes,” she said, pausing to spit on her hands, and she slapped them together. Then she pulled herself up the rope, clambering up the trunk until she finally hauled herself up to one of the main limbs. All the while, Vexx scanned the area while his small squad of undead dwarves stood guard around him.

  “I should keep you guys around,” Vexx muttered. “Did you like getting out of your graves?”

  The dwarves didn’t seem to understand the question.

  Twigs and snapped branches rained down as Kaylin made her way to a dizzying height. She stood there, peering over the green walls of the maze. “Ah-hah, that’s our exit!” Kaylin said, pointing outward and craning her neck to see more of the maze. The branch she was perched on swayed dangerously at her sudden movements. “And over there…” she whistled. “Ooh, Shy isn’t doing too well.”

  “You don’t have to sound so happy about it,” Vexx replied. “Do you know how we can get to her?”

  “She fell for one of those illusion traps,” Kaylin continued. “She’s dangling on a ledge above a bunch of spikes, and there are minotaurs on both sides. Mmm…out that exit,” she said, twisting to look in the other direction. The branch creaked ominously under her weight as she turned to look behind her.

  “Kaylin…”

  “Then a right…then there’s a left, U-turn…make your way across a set of traps, then a right and another right, and then we run right into—oof!”

  The branch snapped and sent Kaylin tumbling down as Vexx moved forward, catching her in his arms. She blinked up at him.

  “Be careful,” he said, helping her to her feet. “Ready?”

  “To save that old, bloodthirsty succubus?” Kaylin reached for her quiver, half-nocking an arrow. “Of course, I’m ready.”

  Vexx grinned. “Should I tell her you said that?”

  “This way!” Kaylin said, dashing ahead. Vexx and his undead dwarves hurried behind, running through the graveyard toward the exit.

  Between Two Minotaurs

  The dungeoneers weaved their way through the maze when Shyola’s voice echoed over the wall.

  “Over here!” she called out.

  “From there?” Vexx slowed as they reached an intersection, pointing straight ahead.

  Kaylin shook her head. “No, this way,” she said, hurrying down the path on the right. Vexx wavered a moment, glancing forward where he heard Shyola. Then he shook his head, turning to follow Kaylin.

  “Help!” Shy’s voice called out.

  “An illusion,” Vexx muttered as he and Kaylin rushed down the passage to the right. Kaylin paused just after she took the next right.

  “Here,” she said, quickly pulling back on her bow. “A spring trap on the left side of the wall,” Kaylin stated, releasing the bowstring. The arrow whizzed forward, snapping the trap in two as she nocked and loosed another arrow. “A hanging dead man’s snare by the willow,” she said as a bundle of old knotted rope fell to the ground, her arrow chopping straight through. “And watch your feet there,” she added, pointing at several mismatched tiles. “There are definitely spikes below those pressure plates.”

  “Duly noted,” Vexx said, keeping to the side of the maze as he slowed. One of the plates made a thunking sound as Vexx passed by. One of the undead dwarves looked down at his rotted foot, grunting as he took stock of the spike that was lodged inside it. He ripped it free and continued as another of Vexx’s undead squad triggered a trap. “Watch it, guys,” he snapped, hurrying after Kaylin as she rounded the corner. She came to a quick stop, and Vexx soon saw why.

  A minotaur had cornered Shy, rumbling menacingly as her whip slashed upward with a loud snap. Then he turned to glare back at the two dungeoneers. A shield wall of undead dwarves clattered as they shuffled into place in front of them, forming a line between them and the enraged minotaur.

  “A little help here?”

  Shy’s face barely peeked above the ground floor. Vexx couldn’t quite see how she was managing to avoid the spike traps below the illusory ground, but from the genuine fear on her face, he knew they’d come just in time.

  “dwarves, form a wedge!” Vexx called out, readying an Ethereal Screech just as the minotaur huffed again, kicking up a bit of dirt. As the dwarves squeezed into formation, the minotaur bellowed and charged forward, batting aside two of Kaylin’s arrows before raising its axe. But before it could strike, a swarm of exploding skulls soared from Vexx’s staff, smashing into the minotaur as well as the walls beside it. The minotaur nearly spun around from the impact, and a detonation on its face tore away a part of its hide and shattered the end of one horn, but it stubbornly continued forward.

  After losing its momentum, the minotaur could only stagger into the closed ranks of undead dwarves, who began enthusiastically hacking away at the great beast. It swung down, shattering a shield and knocking one of the undead dwarves into the nearest walls, but rivulets of blood ran down its face and muscular chest. With the combined efforts of Kaylin shooting from close range, Vexx blasting a stream of fire from above and the dwarves hacking away from below, the minotaur let out a low moan and crashed to the ground.

  Vexx sank to one knee, wiping his brow. Kaylin rushed past, already retrieving her tree snare from her rucksack and tossing it to Shyola.

  “Come on, Vexx, give me a hand!”

  “Ugh…you guys help her,” Vexx grunted. By the time he got to his feet and approached the ledge, Kaylin had tossed her tree snare down and Shy had slung it around her body. “You alright down there?”

  Shy had both legs stretched out, her feet resting precariously on the tilted edges of two long spears amidst the forest of spikes. Even with the careful movements of wrapping the rope around her waist, she slid down slightly.

  “Never been better. Can you get me out of here?”

  The party of dwarves formed a line behind Kaylin, grabbing onto the rope with their rotting hands and pulling away with the elf, hauling Shy up and out of the hole. Vexx joined them, grabbing the end of the rope, and with a final tug, the succubus came rolling over the edge of the gap.

  “Thanks, elf,” Shy muttered, awkwardly patting Kaylin’s shoulder as she stood up. “I really thought I was done for.”

  “What happened?” Vexx asked.

  “That damn hag must have conjured up an image of Parnaverius,” Shy explained. “We’ve been through a few hells together. She lured me over here and just about had me killed; caught in a trap between two minotaurs.

  Vexx glanced past the gap. There was no minotaur, as far as he could tell, but a low rumbling echoed in the distance. Kaylin’s ears twitched.

  “He’s trying to ambush us.”

  “Well, that’s the way we need to go,” Shy said, pointing across the gap. “I managed to get a good view. The ruins of the Dwarven temple are just a few turns up ahead. Do you see that spire in the distance?”

  An ancient stone edifice loomed above the mists surrounding the maze.

  Vexx nodded.

  “I guarante
e we’ll find the voodoo doll in there,” Shy said. “The hag will probably be forced to defend it as well. There’s our exit, Vexx. We just need to get across and get a bit further.”

  “If you think I can blast you all across with wind magic, you would be mistaken,” Vexx said, wearily unscrewing a mana vial and taking a quick drink. The liquid burned down his throat as he swallowed, and somehow, he found himself missing Doctor Fansee’s peculiar blend.

  Vexx wiped his mouth. “I don’t have much of this left,” he croaked out, carefully corking it once again and sliding it into his pocket. “I need to ration my stamina. Carrying these little guys around is a lot of work.”

  One of the dwarfs made a sharp grunting noise and the others turned their uncanny green eyes over to focus on Vexx. He shrugged.

  “Sorry…these stout Dwarven warriors, I mean.”

  “Hang on a second,” Kaylin mused. “This tree snare has already been pulled apart, and we have time now. What if you blast one of the dwarves across with the rope? Then we could all cross.”

  Vexx blinked, tapping his staff. “You know… that could work.”

  Shy chuckled. “Any volunteers?”

  To Vexx’s surprise, one of the dwarves quickly raised a hand. Vexx shrugged, gesturing for it to move toward the ledge as Kaylin handed him one end of the rope. The undead dwarf grabbed it, readying himself at the ledge as Vexx summoned a swirling storm of wind energy.

  “Alright, once you’re across, make sure you anchor this securely. Take a running jump, and I’ll send you across. Three, two, one…”

  The Ruined Dwarven Temple

  “Not bad at all,” Shy said, clapping her hands together. “That wasn’t so hard, right?”

  “We lost a dwarf,” Vexx muttered, glancing down into the spikes where the ruined form of one of the undead dwarves had been pierced by several long spears.

  “He’s resting in pieces,” Kaylin pointed out. “That’s what Theo and Prandor wanted, after all. Now we just need to kill this hag.”

  “And that can’t come soon enough,” Shy said, already striding forward. “Come on, I know the way!”

  Vexx followed after her, his three remaining undead dwarves keeping pace as the dungeoneers turned left and right, making their way to the exit of the maze. Finally, after only a few minutes of walking, the ruined temple was visible above the green walls. In a fit of excitement, Kaylin bounded forward and didn’t even notice the tripwire. She fell to the ground, and an ominous clicking sound echoed from the side of the wall. A moment later, three spears instantly shot out from the side, slamming forward to impale the elf, but Shy slashed forward, her whip appearing in an instant and severing the shafts of the spears. One of them fell and the tip of the spear sliced into Kaylin’s shoulder, leaving a shallow cut, but the elf seemed mostly unharmed.

  “Ow,” Kaylin muttered, climbing to her feet. “Thanks, Shy.”

  “No problem,” the succubus said, taking the lead. “Just keep your eyes open. We’re almost through.”

  Keeping to a cautious pace and avoiding another cluster of spikes under pressure plates at the final turn, the dungeoneers soon came to the exit of the maze itself. Vines shrouded the majestic exit, and other species of plant life grew over the statues of two ornate gargoyles who stared down at the dungeoneers as they inched forward. The temple itself was just up ahead; wide, cracked marble steps led upward into a classically designed Dwarven temple that was run down and ravaged by time. At some point, a large tree had collapsed and left a gaping hole in the roof, yet somehow, the temple retained some part of its original magnificence.

  Flanking the massive stairs were row after row of what appeared to be empty pedestals. Shy paused at one, squinting down at the faded script.

  “Minotaur,” she announced. “Guardian statues of the dwarves.” She frowned as she took in rows of empty pedestals. “We haven’t seen that many…have we?”

  “Not yet,” Vexx said, a pit growing in his stomach.

  “Maybe they died over the years,” Kaylin suggested. “Or wandered off to greener pastures.”

  “Pastures,” Shy snorted. “Good one, elf.”

  “What? I just figured minotaurs would love pastures.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right,” Vexx said, striding forward and using his staff as a walking stick, even as he kept a wary eye on the slumped-over temple and the forest, which grew up to its very edge. “Because I do not want to fight a herd of minotaurs right now.”

  “Can your minions provide you any information?” Shy suggested, gesturing at the dwarves who stayed in a defensive formation, even as they made their way up the steps.

  “I’m afraid not,” Vexx admitted. “It’s hard enough to communicate with them normally, much less through thought. Besides, I don’t speak Dwarven.”

  “Do you think you could, if you studied the Black Arts more?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it,” Vexx said. “I suppose it’s possible.”

  “They won’t tell you anything you don’t know already, frail human!” a voice cut through the distance. It was feminine but clearly from an old woman, and it carried a distinct hint of menace. “This will be your graveyard, just as it was for them.”

  “Show yourself, hag!” Shy called out. “So we can sever your wretched head from your withered body.”

  “Hah, you think to call me a hag? You, who have wandered these realms for thousands of years?”

  “Most of that was spent in the hells,” Shyola pointed out. “Besides, I age well. You, on the other hand…well, you won’t die of old age, I can tell you that.” She snapped her whip forward, cutting through the gloom which had suddenly descended around them. “I’ll make it a quick death, at least. Come now, hag, bring me your neck for the chopping. An old woman like you should never play coy.”

  Crackling beams of light came out from within the temple walls, piercing the mist. A deep rumble sounded from within, and Vexx caught glimpses of horns in the shadows as a band of minotaurs emerged from the ruins. The ground shook from below as holes opened up from the dirt, and the grotesque heads of burrowers appeared amidst the heaps of scattered earth. The dungeoneers subconsciously moved closer together, and the three dwarves formed a cordon around them.

  “We can’t win against that,” Vexx muttered, then felt his robes being pulled. He glanced down into the unwavering gaze of Kazmerian Thunderbrow. He was a bit worse for wear from his last fight with the minotaur, but he stood sturdily enough and pointed ahead at a large statue that was partially illuminated by a beam of light from the sun above. It stood out even in the swirling mist that spread around them.

  “Those damn lights,” Shyola muttered, swatting at a gleaming orb as it floated by.

  “I don’t have enough arrows for this,” Kaylin scowled, pulling her bow back to full draw as the first minotaur stepped down the temple stairs.

  “Make them count, then,” Vexx called over his shoulder, running across the muddy pavilion. “But come with me!”

  “Where are you going, Master? Damnation!”

  The dungeoneers struggled to keep pace, rushing across, even as they kept a wary eye on the minotaurs stomping out of the temple. More burrowers burst forth nearby, one eager burrower even coming close enough to warrant an undead dwarf’s attention. The dwarf leaped forward, slamming down with a warhammer and smashing the burrower to bloody bits before rejoining the group.

  “Kazmerian says there’s something important about this statue,” Vexx said excitedly, pointing up at the statue of a massive winged creature. “Do you know what this is?”

  “You’re kidding me,” Shyola said, eyes widening as she took in the long snout and ornately carved expression. “No, it can’t be! I’ve heard about this! It was all the talk of the legions at the time.”

  “So, what is it?” Vexx snapped, one eye on the slowly approaching minotaurs. There was a soft twang as Kaylin let loose her first arrow, pinning a burrower to the ground. She readied another shot but hesitated as the enemy
forces grew in number.

  “The Dwarven king of some island settlement managed to tame a frost wyrm. They formed an alliance of sorts, where they agreed to protect each other. Goblins used to prowl the area, you see, and the frost wyrm faced adventurers who would travel many leagues to test themselves against—”

  “Can we skip the history lesson?” Vexx snapped, backing up until he was almost under the upraised claw of the statue above. He stared upward, marveling at the size of it. “Is there a way to…I don’t know, resurrect the corpse of this thing?”

  The minotaurs crowded around them now, their breath steaming in the mist, and an army of burrowers swarmed all around them. Still, Shyola seemed strangely calm. Even amused.

  “Oh, it’s not dead. It isn’t even a statue. It froze itself,” she explained idly, jerking a thumb upward. “Why don’t you warm it up?”

  Vexx didn’t need any further urging. It was only as he was midway through sending a stream of flames at the frost wyrm that he began to wonder if he wasn’t making a huge mistake.

  The Frost Wyrm

  The statue of the dragon seemed to shudder as Vexx’s spurts of flames covered its entire front. Then, his flames faded away.

  Should I get the back as well? Vexx wondered, even over the sounds of his undead dwarf thralls pushing forward to stab burrowers attacking from the flanks. Or is it…

  His thoughts trailed off as the frost wyrm suddenly flapped downwards, sending a mighty gust of wind through the temple complex. The front ranks of the minotaurs fell to a halt and the dungeoneers and undead dwarves were nearly knocked off their feet. Vexx stared up in wonder as the dragon’s massive head moved down. Its tongue emerged from within; a dark blue tendril that scented the air. Two teal flames illuminated the frost wyrm’s eyes as it swiveled its massive head to look directly at Vexx.

  A guttural noise came from Kazmerian Thunderbrow, followed by a series of muffled words. Shy looked over after a moment.