Zav lay face buried in the dried grass, water gurgling and sloshing in the near distance as a cold wind blew around his bare feet. His body was aching and he knew he had to get up and return to camp fast to clean out his cuts and wounds to prevent worse. The rest of the group was moving scattered close by, confused and disoriented as he was. One moment the burial chamber they had been lured to was closed off from the outside, the next he had lost his footing, falling scrambling towards the ragged outline of the stony chamber wall. And then he had hit the ground, breath knocked out of him passing out of conscience for a few delectable moments. A dream image of a large spider shook him awake and he sighed heart pounding as he sat up and rubbed his roughed up arms and legs. Mahal be praised, this leg of their journey was done. What was left was to return and face the woman that started it once and for all. The year was coming to an end and he was aware that his personal journey had to begin when spring or early summer came. He did not have all the time of a young life left.
It was the one they had named “The Hag” that had led the Steel here, towards ancient ruins and tombs within a swamp in the lost lands. Prove yourself to me she had said and meant that she was neither willing nor able to abandon her schemes unless their united strength forced her hand. And so amidst long heated discussions they had agreed to follow her guide, if only so they may find a way to undo her bidding, discover a weak point and save the innocent lives at danger. “Go bring me that which lies in the fountain beneath kingdoms lost, the blood of time.” And so it was that a group of their strongest fighters and most able strategists (he smiled at his own thought with silly pride) set out towards the Lone lands, sought camp with those that called themselves the Eglain, remnants of an old people who had given them support and counsel. The woman named Elsa who had trusted him with a candle, an object of great holy meaning as it turned out, had made an impression on the old dwarf. Her manner was stern and fearless, but wise and kind just as well. She would stand great among the women of his own kind and that was a rather formidable achievement.
With her well wishes they had entered the swamp, past the eyes of the dead, past the spiders guarding the pass inside. It was eery and silent. No sounds there were of fish or bird, of any living thing, but a dread that weighed upon their every step. The group passed empty camps of those Lheuwen and Gaeded said to be of ill repute, found only a warning gruesomely staged that hinted at why those had fled the area, they passed a fresh tomb that put a cold in Zavas’ heart that he could barely bear. He begged them to move on, leave the grave of the one they called Domruth and at last they heeded. This was their past, but the present needed them more. And then they found the entrance to the deep tomb.
It was pitch black inside. It was Zavas who took it onto himself to light the strange candle he had been given, to light their way with that strange blue glimmer of flames through the dark corridors, always ahead always behind some unidentified touch and gaze following them. There was not one whose heart did not feel the terror and yet stood against it with every step. He was surprised and proud of these young men and women who lived and stood for justice and honour whatever their past may have been. Mahal did lead him the right way and he would trust his and their judgement on his journey forth, prove worthy of it too. Why it nearly felt like being a young dwarf during his first battles once again! They finally passed into a chamber that must have spread high and wide, there was a movement in the air, but soon the group found that their path was barred. What sorcery was this? They stood and studied by touch the invisible barrier. What could be done? There was no other way ahead. Zav stepped forward and held his candle high with curiosity and concern. There were markings on its bottom and holes too. How strange. He peered through them at the darkness ahead and held his breath. Impossible! Smoke was whirling in front of his eyes peering through, a smoke that to their touch was like a firm wall, impenetrable. He stretched out his hand, followed it along the barrier when it found an opening, just wide enough for one to slip through, raised high from the ground. He pointed out his discovery with excitement and passed the candle on to those willing to step through first. Elsa be blessed. She must have had some idea of what lay ahead of them. Wait what?
The barrier behind them they crossed the majestic chamber when a voice called out to them in their hearts, a terrible voice full of insults and mockery. For some time Zav wondered whether the Hag had followed them here, to spy on them and make sure her orders were fulfilled. But no, even more terrible this was yet another spirit, another evil being, human or not, dead or alive. Who could say. It taunted them, blamed them for being used by someone that was like an enemy to this new force. The dwarf felt anger rising within himself, caught between two whose works should long have ended, he shook off his stupor and challenged the taunts as did a few of the others. To no avail. There was no reasoning with the formless, it laughed and turned away but not without raising a very physical challenge. A dreadful sound echoed through the chamber and the dead bones rose to move against them. Battle ensued, two times a ten (or maybe it just felt like thus to Zavas) advanced on the group and they readied to stand their ground. Fierce was the Steel in its defence and successful in taking down wight after wight. It was Zav who was struggling to keep up, despite his training and experience his age did limit what his heart sought to achieve. He got hit by a wight and had to fight from both disadvantageous position and a stray arrow piercing his leg from the young Hunter Athlenah, who had struggled most amidst the chaos caused by the Hags’ dreadful dreams and attacks on the mind. Ah he was blaming himself more than the child, younger still than his own daughter. If his body were as young and agile as it used to be it would not have found him such easy a target. Despite folly from around and within the Steel persevered, skillful Morfryn, fearless Gaeded, bold Lheuwen, young confused Athlenah, (Egfor and the Halfling too) and was victorious, once again calling out the being present to show itself and give them what they needed – knowledge and admission.
Zavas refused to reason any longer, yet Lheuwen’s rather polite persistence proved successful. The being appeared in form of a terrible shape, hidden behind yet another barrier and challenged them just the same as the Hag did. “Prove yourself capable and I shall give you the means to destroy her. I have no business with the living world but your intrusion here. Prove yourself and begone!” And so it was to be. They laid down their weapons as requested and stood waiting for what would happen next. Wights once more appeared in number equal to their own, each carrying a weapon to one of them that this new being must assume they are not used to handle. Zav could not help smiling at the presentation of two daggers to him. Truthfully his fighting weapon was the axe, but his daily work was done with knifes… And so it was for each of them. Next there appeared another round of wights equal in number to their own, armed in varying degrees and different in stature and strength. They were each to choose their one on one opponent. Zavas claimed the stocky wight with two axes, reasoning that he would know its movements from his own experience and also how to avoid them thus. Paired up the second fight began. Those that were victorious ended up spell bound to where they stood helplessly doomed to watch the proceedings of those still battling. Zavas now felt the aw of battle inside him, his movements were skillful and fast, he did not get hit again as in the battle before, but it took him some time to relieve his wight of his weaponry by pure physical force and take him down crushing his bones. And so it was that when his wight fell Zavas was last to be victorious and the being full filled her promise and gave to Gaeded the implements necessary to defeat the Hag and a sample of the spring that it was guarding so fervently. Surely they all wondered whether they would prove useful and thus started to prepare for the long way back home, expelled from the tomb by wondrous force into the lands above ground, the ruins of Ost Guruth looming in the clouded distance.
