Shadow Dagger

Escaped Death

            The flashback felt so real for Tripit as he awoke to heavy breathing in his ears. As he opened his eyes, he came face to face with a pair of big red eyes. Tripit felt his body slide over the grainy sand, as he realized he was being dragged deeper into the darkness. For over an hour red eyes are all that he saw in front of him as inch-by-inch every grain of sand cut into his skin.

            He felt his body slow to a stop. The pair of eyes jumped onto his face as Tripit felt claws dig into his cheeks as the red eyes got bigger and bigger until they touched his. The creature was close enough now that he could see yellow jagged teeth and smell rotting breath. The creature mumbled something that Tripit couldn’t understand. The creature’s language sounded like claws digging into a chalkboard and high piercing.

            The creature screeched a few more phrases, then suddenly jumped off Tripit and burrowed into the sand. Like an hourglass, grains around him started sliding in a downward spiral. It started with his hands, then his feet as he slid down with the sand. He was squeezed into a small tunnel as his waist got stuck and Tripit had to slither his way down with a grimace, so the weight of the falling sand didn’t crush him.

            Within minutes the sand stopped falling but Tripit kept falling until he landed on his back onto a pile of green and brown moss. In a flash his surroundings changed. The sand dunes lay quietly above him as he lay sprawled inside a tree trunk. He lifted himself to his elbows as he looked around.

            Dark red oak surrounded him as he was in the middle of a vast room. It ran thirty feet in diameter with oak dressers, as pillows lay scattered across an interwoven silk rug. Books ran the length of the far wall as a small bed lay unused in the corner.

            Tripit had just gotten to his feet when a large black door swung inward causing him to jump sideways to avoid getting hit. Out from the floor a creature crawled into the room, muttering quietly to himself. Unlike the other creatures, this one had blue scales that ran down his body.

            It took a few minutes for the creature to notice Tripit standing there towering over it as the door slammed. “Ahh! Who are you and what are you doing in my home?” the creature’s voice was high screeching but Tripit could understand it.

            “How am I able to understand you and not the others?” Tripit was still standing over the creature.

            “I know not what you are talking about stranger, but you are in my home. Leave!” The creature hobbled into a corner and started to glance at a book that he picked up.

            “When I fell into the sand, one of the creatures mumb….”

            Tripit was cut off as the creature was now in his face. The same yellow jagged teeth and rotten breath. “We are not creatures, we are Dwellers,” he hissed.

            “Mumbled something.” Tripit finished, unphased that he offended the dweller. “I couldn’t understand him, but I understand you. Why is that?”

            “Well stranger,” the Dweller was still flustered. “I have been around humans on several occasions for some…um…business transactions. So, I picked up some words and the rest were easy.”

            “Ok Dweller how do I get out of here?” Tripit now paced around the room.

            The Dweller stared deeply into Tripit’s eyes as if trying to read his soul. “You don’t. You are our prisoner.”

            As soon as the last word was spoken, two Dwellers marched up to Tripit. They were much larger than the ones he saw before. Gold scales covered their bodies as bulging veiny muscles struggled to be covered. Their tails were equipped with a four-prong mace and long pointed fingernails expanded from their hands.

            “Come with us,” they said in unison. Their voice was icy and rough.

            Tripit charged them shoulder first but the Dwellers were quick, and side stepped grabbing him by the shoulder. Blood dripped, and a scream escaped him as one of the Dwellers dug his nails into Tripit’s shoulder causing flesh and tendon to rip and tear.

            Immediately Tripit fell to his knees as the Dweller let go of his shoulder while the other hit him over the head with a closed fist. Tripit’s vision became blurry as he slumped to the ground. He felt his body being dragged as doors closed behind him and his eyes rolled into his head.

            It seemed all Tripit woke up to was darkness as he regained his vision. Slivered rays of moonlight lit up a corner of the room he was in. After a few minutes, Tripit realized where he was. A dungeon. He assessed his situation. The dungeon chambers were dark and cold. Slowly he was able to get on his feet as he stumbled to the small window.

            “The dungeon is above the ground,” Tripit thought out loud as he saw sand while he looked out the window.

            “You are correct in that notion young man,” a voice behind Tripit caused him to turn. “It’s built into one of the abandoned buildings that litter the Wasteland.”

            “I thought I was the only one in this forsaken place,” Tripit leaned closer to the bars that surrounded his cage. Squinting, trying to see where the voice came from.

            “Well I was the only one in here until they threw you in here last night,” the voice let out a sighed laugh. “You can see that my friends weren’t so lucky when they came down here.”

            After squinting and letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, Tripit could see a saggy figure slumped against the back wall. “How are you outside of your cage?”

            “Young man, they don’t lock the cages. We are free to wander and die in this dungeon, just don’t try to escape because they will get you and drag you back into this place.”

            Tripit tested the figure’s word and tried to open his cage. The lock clicked open and the door swung open. A slight smile escaped his face as he was one step to freedom, even if it seemed a little hopeless.

            “What is your name?” Tripit walked slowly to where the figure was slumped. “My name is Tripit Lirik.”

            The figure slowly started to rise off against the wall. “The name is Deegon. But my friends used to call me Dee, so you can too.”

            The two shook hands but Tripit wanted to get right to the point. “How do we escape Dee?”

            “Ha-Ha. You clearly don’t hear so well, do you young man?” Deegon was leaning against the back wall. “There is no escaping from this dreary prison.”

            “We have to at least try though Dee. I refuse to sit here and die in this place.” Tripit felt tears well up in his eyes. He couldn’t help but get emotional. He didn’t belong here in the first place. “I must get out of here. No I WILL get out of here.”

            “If the guards hear you then you won’t have a chance to get out of here, so keep your voice down will you.” Dee walked toward where Tripit was standing, in the middle of the dungeon. Tripit noticed that Dee walked with a gimp in his right leg. Deegon saw him staring at his gimp.

            “You noticed my gimp, did you?” Dee lifted his pant leg to reveal stitched up scars that crossed deeply over each other. His leg just above the ankle was cut in half and never properly healed. Tripit was in shock at the horror.

            “This is why I say that escaping is a futile effort.” Deegon let his pant leg fall back over his bare skin. “I was young, just like you when I was thrown in here. I tried to escape my first night in here. Well that was over 50 years ago.”

            Tripit was speechless at the words that the old man spoke. His sliver of hope was dashed, and he slunk back into his cage. This seemed like one long nightmare as he looked around at the skulls and crushed piles of bones. Tripit wondered how many of those bones Dee knew.

            “I don’t belong in here Deegon.” Tripit spoke just above a whisper. “I will find a way out of here even if it costs me my life.”

            Dee sighed. “Look when you have been in here as long as I have, you can’t help but learn a few secrets.”

            That caught Tripit’s ear as he perked up a little bit and listened to the old man. He stepped out of his cage and sat on the floor in front of Dee like a child listening to a story from their parents.

            “Every day the guards come in as soon as the sun goes to bed to give rations. Another guard stands behind him blocking the exit and this is the only time that the guards come and check on their prisoners.” Even Dee couldn’t help but start to smile. It has been awhile since he talked to someone about escaping.

            “In the past 50 years, I haven’t been sitting aimlessly.” Deegon gimped to a pile of bones that sat in behind the cage Tripit found himself in. He pushed the bones away as they crumbled over each other and rested on the maggot and blood infested ground. What Tripit saw he couldn’t believe his eyes.

            A hole took over the place of the bone pile. It was the width of a man and Tripit didn’t know how far it went down. “Every day I would dig a little bit out of this hole and then cover it up with bones, so the guards wouldn’t realize. I can assure you that it makes its way out of this death hole but…” Dee trailed off.

            “But what Dee?” Tripit asked eagerly.

            “Outside of the exit is more Dwellers roaming the Wasteland. That is why I haven’t tried to escape. I am too old to out run them.”

            “Well leave that part to me Deegon,” Tripit was pacing the dungeon. “I will escape and then come and rescue you.”

            Dee knelt next to the bones that lay on the ground and picked some pieces up. “Here this is yours Tripit.”

            He handed Tripit his scorpion armor. “The guards threw it in the pile when they brought you in here.”

            Tripit put the armor on as it covered his many wounds. As he put the helmet on his head, the dungeon chamber door slammed open and the two guards that Tripit met earlier barged in.

            “Well, well, well I see that you two have made acquaintances.” The guards hissed in unison. “It has to end early though. The boy comes with us.”

            The guards lunged toward Tripit who evaded them. “You are just going to tire yourself out before your execution boy.”

            “Tripit head to the hole!” Deegon moved to intercept the guards’ movements. “Now!”

            Scared, Tripit rushed to the hole as he jumped into the hole but stood a few feet down as he turned to Dee. Dee was trying to fight off the guards, but their strength proved too much for the old man. He had a gaping wound across his back and his face was scratched across his left eye. Blood rushed down his back as he fell on top of the hole. His face looking Tripit into the face.

            “I don’t have much time left young man, so listen carefully.” Dee was gasping for breath.

            “No Dee you can’t die!” Tripit was shaking.

            “I said listen, don’t interrupt. I need you to run once you reach the Wastelands.” Dee’s voice was fading. “I don’t know your story Tripit but if you seek revenge, then go to the city of Darkwind to the northeast and look for the Assassin’s Guild. Tell them Deegon sent you and they will take care of you. Now run you fool!”

            Dee was motionless. His last sacrifice was making sure that Tripit escaped and he knew he mustn’t waste it. He closed Dee’s eyes and said a silent prayer as he scurried through the hole.

            The guards were forced to find another way around as they exited the dungeon. “We can’t let the prisoner escape. The King will not be happy with us.”

            The two Dwellers made their way through winding corridors as they shouted the alarm. One by one doors in the corridors opened as more guards rushed to join the two. Fifty in all, were huddled together, scuttling to the Underground Kingdom’s exit. Together they pushed two black oak doors outward as the Wasteland greeted them.

            Tripit had lost sense of direction and time as he wound his way through the cavity. He thought of Deegon. He thought about his last sacrifice. He thought about the courage and skill it took to burrow the hole. The sand surrounding the hole was hot and sticky as Tripit wound left. Then right. Then up and straight down.

            After what seemed like hours, Tripit found that the sand around him was starting to get lighter than the dark sand that he was used to around him. It started to crumble around him as he pushed above his head. The sand loosened up until he felt the heat of the scorching sun on his hand.

            With a push, he broke through. One hand and then the other hand. He placed both hands on the sand and pulled himself the rest of the way out of the hole. The glare of the sun caused him to place his hands over his face as he adjusted to his surroundings.

            “There he is! Don’t let him escape!” The horde of Dweller guards were just several hundred yards to the right of Tripit. He didn’t have time to adjust to being in the Wastelands anymore. Tripit found his footing and slowly trekked through the sand dunes.

            The Dwellers were gaining ground on him. Fast. Tripit couldn’t help but trip over the thick sand as he tried to hurry his pace. Just fifty feet away now. Tripit could hear their shallow breathing as they leapt at him. One of the guards grabbed his ankles. Tripit fell to his face getting a mouthful of sand on the way down.

            Claws immediately dug into Tripit’s ankle as he let out a scream. Blood dripped down his ankle and stained the sand. The Dweller let go of Tripit as he looked down. He saw specks of white swimming in the blood. Bone. The blood kept spewing out as he tried to crawl away.

            One of the guards let out a battle roar and was rearing to strike again. Tripit readied himself for the attack. He closed his eyes. Fist clenched the sand. But no attack came. He opened his eyes just as bodies fell around him.

            He looked in the face of a young girl maybe about sixteen years of age. She leaned down and smiled at Tripit. Wiping her sword, she sheathed it in the scabbard strapped to her back.

            “It looks like I saved ya, ha-ha.” Her voice was squeaky but pleasant to Tripit. He smiled back at her.

            “How did you kill so many by yourself?” Tripit tried to get on his feet but winced and slumped back into the sand.

            “It looks like your hurt.” The girl motioned to touch his ankle but Tripit flinched. “Be calm, I am not going to hurt you.”

            Tripit let her touch his ankle and immediately a cooling sensation flowed throughout his body. A blue light escaped from her hands as she let go of him.

            “There, that should just about do it.” The girl was smiling at Tripit again. “Try to stand and walk around.”

            Tripit did what he was told. He stood up and was able to walk around. “How did you do that?” He was speechless.

            “Everyone at the Assassin’s Guild knows magic.” The girl was walking away from Tripit now.

            “Assassin’s Guild!” Tripit hurried after her. “Deegon told me to look for that guild.”

            The girl stopped in her tracks. “How did you know Deegon?”

            “I met him in the Dwellers dungeon.” Tripit now stood next to her. “He told me to make my way to the city of Darkwind.”

            Tears started to fall over her face. “Grandpa… I never had a chance to meet him, but my parents told me so much about him.”

            “I would love to know more about him.” Tripit looked at the girl in the face. “I owe that man my life.”

            “Everyone at the Assassin’s Guild owes my grandpa their lives.” A smile found its way to her face again. “I will tell you how he lived while I take you to the guild. My name is Riselle.”

            “I am Tripit.” He walked side by side with her as they made their way through the Wasteland and to the city of Darkwind. The sun beat down on them as sand whirled around them but Tripit was determined to make it to the Assassin’s Guild and there was something about Riselle that put him at ease.