The Tale of Daemonica

Stumbling in the Dark

   Daemonica hurried after Vassiles, who was on his way back to the bench where Pete was waiting impatiently, his torch pointed at the rock above it. Behind them, the surface of the lake rose steadily, crashing against the shore in ever-increasing waves as the king's men fought head-to-head with a group of unknown adversaries. Vassiles fished a glittering object out of his bag as he ran. After all, he stopped a little out of breath next to Pete, thrust a lantern into his empty hand, and put his palm on the stone. The water was already splashing playfully to taste the smooth rock just a short distance from their feet when Vassiles put the oval amulet against the rock. Directly ahead of them (of course) appeared a dark corridor. The worst kind of smell struck her in the nose a moment before she took the first step inside, but this was not a good time to linger. The three of them burst into the secret passage. While Vassiles, at the other side of the opening, felt the rock again under the light from Pete's torch, Daemonica craned her neck over their figures, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening inside the hall. The sounds of battle from the opposite bank were somewhat muffled when the threatening behavior of the water was noticed by the participants in the skirmish. The water from the lake had already cleared the entrance to the corridor when a mass curse sounded from the other side, followed by screams of despair. The chorus of frightened voices, on the other hand, accompanied an all-too-quiet giant wave that spread from the center of the lake to all corners of the temple, moving silently toward them across the smooth floor. Pete, who stood closest to the entrance, was soaking wet from head to toe before the secret door finally closed. Fortunately, Daemonica managed to turn her back on the entrance and shield her torch from the shower that would have robbed them of their last source of light. The corridor shook with the thud of water crashing against the rocky walls of the temple, accompanied by the angry roar of something that had been awakened from sleep against its will. Pete muttered under his breath. The old man nonchalantly ignored the fact that more than a few of the words sounded very much like curses of the worst caliber. When Daemonica started down the corridor, away from what was on the other side of the door, Vassiles grabbed her forearm tightly.

"Wait.“In her shock at what was happening around her, she paid no attention to what her senses were telling her. But now she became alert and immediately heard the water rolling through the intricate tunnels. Farther ahead, a tidal wave swept through, then the water began to sink slowly, and what had awakened within the temple fell silent.

'Lend me your torch.' Daemonica handed the light to Vassiles. The old man took a new candle from his bag, lit it with the flame of a torch, and carefully attached it to the lantern, which he took back from the still humming Pete. Now the little light flickered in his hand.

'Extinguish the torch.' Daemonica silently did as he asked, and soon they were stumbling through an even more damp maze of underground passages. As Vassiles led the way with the last light they had left, which helpfully shone right under his feet, he skillfully missed all the pitfalls. Daemonica and Pete didn't do so well. Daemonica stopped every now and then, listening to the damp sounds of the underground, while Pete followed her with a steady stride, obviously eager to get out as soon as possible. This resulted in their inevitable collision, when the unfocused Pete first stepped on Daemonica's cloak and heel, then buried the soaked torch directly under her ribs as he crashed into her. After his last stutter, there was a thin rat whistle.

'By Middar! I'm a sailor, not a rat to climb the sewers! I hate rats!' Pete growled under his breath. Daemonica had spent enough time on his ship to know he was telling the truth. It explained why all his men had to take turns, among other duties, in regularly and thoroughly cleaning the ship and checking supplies for the voyage.

There was another rat squeak as he shook the animal from his boot. He would have almost crashed into Daemonica again. Fortunately, however, she had thrown her cloak over her left forearm some time ago, in which she held the extinguished torch and made sure to keep a safe distance from him.

'Stop!' Vassiles ordered. Daemonica, hearing the sound of approaching footsteps a little earlier then the old man, quickly threw her damp cloak over the lantern. None of them dared move. In one of the many intricate passages of the underground not far from them the sound of light boots could be heard, and only by listening closely could one hear the occasional clink of a belt buckle or other part of the garment. It was probably not the King's soldiers. In a few moments, only the occasional rat squeal, the tapping of small feet, the eternal dripping of water from the stone ceiling, and then other even more unpleasant sounds were heard, which Daemonica, well aware that her only weapon was a piece of stick, preferred not to think about.

'They were not the King's men.' Vassiles pointed out the obvious softly. Pete was stubbornly silent, and Daemonica began to run out of patience.

'Whoever was it, Vassiles? Or is that a secret, too?' A good deal of irony carried over into her voice, despite the fact that she was barely audible. The old man did not respond.

'Who was that?' Daemonica's voice came suddenly close to his ear.

'Stubborn like a mule.'The old man muttered. 'Rebels, spies, traitors. Whoever somehow got a map of the way to the temple.' He said irritably.

'And the King?'

'Arnvin has his own maps. Many of them were created on the basis of his personal research.' Vassiles chuckled at her naivety. Daemonica said nothing for a moment. In fact, she wasn't too surprised. The King certainly didn't look like someone who wasted precious time sitting on the throne.

'What are they looking for?' She asked thoughtfully. She didn't realize that Vassiles had turned to face her, aiming the lantern light at her until he spoke again.

'No more questions. Let’s go.' He said after a while, and started forward. Several more times they heard the sounds of hurried footsteps in some of the corridors, which was actually more pleasant than the footsteps and sounds that didn't belong to humans. For the umpteenth time Daemonica had unknowingly wiped away a drop of ice cold water that had just fallen from the ceiling onto her nose, distracting her from imaging Arnvin creeping along the dark corridors alone, drawing a map of the underground. She grinned inwardly. Not far away, the roar of an unknown creature filled the corridors.

'We're near the crossroads. They'll be waiting. One or the other.' Vassiles grunted ahead of her and stopped.

'Of course they will. You knew all along, and you herded us under their swords with only sticks in our hands.' Pete growled. Daemonica was sympathetic to his righteous indignation.

'We can argue later.' Vassiles retorted to Pete and turned back to Daemonica. 'Now listen. There are traitors around the next corner. Keep that in mind, whoever's waiting there.' Vassiles said seriously. Daemonica didn't like his words one bit.

"They know about Pete. But there's a chance they don't know about you.' Vassiles continued quietly. 'We have to take advantage of that...'

So now she stood in the gloom of a narrow corridor, peering around it’s corner into a spacious room that indeed looked like a crossroads of several paths. But seeing who the so-called traitors were made her uneasy. Five of Middar's priests waited in the flickering light of their torches. Before Daemonica could think of the extent to which she could trust the oddly clad old man, he entered the room with a surprised expression on his face.

'Your Eminence.' A high-ranking middle-aged priest spoke with ill-pretended respect.

'That is no longer my title, boy.' Vassiles said calmly, and followed by Pete, he set off at a leisurely pace to the opposite side of the room. The priest looked momentarily taken aback, but soon recovered, watching their footsteps closely.

'It is a great relief to me that you managed to escape from the temple. According to the sounds that came even here, all thieves have been deservedly punished.' The priest tried again. The attention of all present was still on Vassiles. Daemonica slipped out of the corridor as quietly as she could.

'I dare to disagree with that,' Vassiles answered calmly. The hand of the man standing before Daemonica hidden in the darkness slipped unobtrusively to his side, pulling back the cloak that concealed the hilt of his sword. Her gaze met Pete's. Something gleamed in Vassiles's hand.

'This is your only chance. Give me what we're both here for, willingly.' The leader's voice changed beyond recognition. It was full of anger and contempt. Without blinking, Vassiles threw a shiny metal object, resembling a larger tailor's needle, at the mage standing to the leader's right, who seemed to be casting a spell. He immediately slid to the ground. The enemy was caught off guard only for a moment, but it was enough for Daemonica to cross the remaining distance between her and the nearest one. She swung and knocked him to the ground with a single blow of the torch. The sword in his hand rang as it hit the ground. Daemonica kicked it with the toe of her boot toward Pete, who shoved Vassiles behind him with one hand and parried the sword of his adversary with the other, torch in hand.

'Get rid of that loafer!' Ordered the priest. Pete cursed. Sword in one hand and torch in the other, enraged by the leader's words, he himself savagely attacked the two "priests" before they could do anything themselves. Their leader's attention turned to Daemonica.

'And who might you be?' He studied her with interest as he drew his sword from its scabbard in a slow motion. An unusually tall girl with a piece of wood in her hand and a hood drawn deep into her face did not seem to be much of an obstacle to the skilled swordsman he was on his way to his goal. That's exactly what made him wary. That and the fact that the old man had not yet shown the slightest hint of apprehension, let alone attempted to abandon his companions and escape. Despite what was at stake. He waited a fraction of a second longer, then attacked flawlessly to force her to reveal some of her potential to him. The girl's response was timely, but quite senselessly she sacrificed her only weapon to his magnificent sword, which cut the torch in two without much resistance.

'Did the wench really smirk?'He asked himself in the middle of the next attack. A moment later he stumbled as his sword sliced through the void and he could no longer avoid Vassiles' lantern. The old man had long since slipped from behind Pete, whom both opponents had not yet managed to breathe. Aiming directly at his head, Vassiles sent the priest to the ground with such skill that he did not extinguish the candle in the lantern. The leader's sword ended up in Daemonica's hands shortly thereafter, and it would have been all over, if it weren't for the approaching thump of feet from several corridors at once.

'I was afraid of that.' Vassiles sighed wearily. He glanced briefly at the stunned priest on the floor for the last time and hurried into one of the corridors, Daemonica and Pete on his heels. Before long they heard the hurried footsteps of the pursuers in the room behind them, who did not allow themselves to linger too long to inspect the scene. Vassiles stopped in front of a dead end after a few turns. Ignoring the approaching pursuers, he felt very slowly and thoroughly at its stone wall.

'I really didn't want to go this way...' The old man muttered to himself. The talisman finally glittered in the dim lantern light, and another secret passage opened before them just as the first torches of the pursuers lit the corridor.

This secret door was probably one-sided, too, because it closed itself behind them as soon as they were inside. The air they breathed seemed to lack all fragrance. There was no sign of rats, but that only added to the ominous atmosphere that weighed heavily on them. Even the candlelight in Vassiles's lantern, the only light they had, had diminished, and the sight of its fading light had not given them any courage. There was no need for the old man to tell them to be wary. The uneasy chill on the back of her neck, which she had no doubt all three of them could feel, was a sufficient warning.

To Daemonica it seemed that they are in a kind of giant space. A space that was definitely not empty. For some time they walked in silence, treading with the greatest care. The darkness around them was almost palpable, and their lungs seemed to lack air. Vassiles was pointing the light on the wall to his left, and it was obvious he was looking for something. Even his hands seemed to tremble in the faint fluttering light of the lantern. It was quite possible, however, that it was not an illusion, for he could not find what he was looking for. But at last he breathed a sigh of relief and put the amulet to the rock. Another secret door opened before them, and they slipped through it in silence. Daemonice was extremely relieved when there was finally just an ordinary rock behind them again. She had no desire to know what lay in the darkness of the cave on the other side of the secret entrance. At that moment the burning candle in the lantern went out completely. Behind her Pete growled.

'Let's rest.' Vassiles said in a calm voice, in which fatigue could not be overlooked. For a moment there was complete silence between them. Daemonica had long since forgotten of her damp clothing sticking uncomfortably to her body. The questions multiplying in her mind gave her no peace, but when she heard Vassiles's heavy breathing, she could not ask aloud any of them. Pete's menacing silence worried her, and even she now wanted nothing more than a single ray of daylight.

'Needle, Vassiles? Seriously?' After a while Pete's voice came out of the darkness.

'As far as I know, a needle is not a weapon.' Vassiles replied wearily. 'Let's go.'

Before long, they were stumbling through a narrow, gradually ascending shaft, into which steeper sections were carved wide steps instead of stairs. Vassiles was increasingly in need of rest breaks, and Daemonica began to have serious concerns for his health just as she saw a hint of what everyone was so longing for in the distance. Through what looked like a narrow crack in the rock, in addition to daylight, fresh air smelling of the sea flowed towards them.

'You really are just a wicked old man, Vassiles.' Pete exuded his breath as they finally emerged from the musty underground in the light of the slowly setting sun at the edge of the Royal Harbor lagoon. Indeed, Vassiles graced them with an all-too-detailed and, above all, unwanted tour of much of the underground beneath Andala.

'And you!' Pete aimed his index finger at Daemonica. 'Sooo glad we met again! Every time you're around, something terribly interesting happens! Cities arise, feared leaders fall, and ancient monsters awaken from their millennia of sleep!' He cast another razor-sharp look at Vassiles.

'Never mind. I'm going to get the ship ready to sail before the sun goes down and my royal license expires. I'm not waiting for anyone.' With that he turned sharply and, without saying another word, headed towards the nearby port.

'I will have to go after him. Even though we've both been convinced that Pete will always wait, I'm not so sure this time.' Vassiles, who, despite his obvious fatigue, regained his stoic calm, reached into his bag and pulled out the amulet placing it on the rock at the entrance. Instead of the door to the catacombs, there was now just ordinary rock. Then he slowly set off for the harbor in Pete's footsteps. Daemonica watched him in disbelief for a moment.

'Don't you think you owe me at least some explanation?' She cried, and caught up with the barely-there old man with the sweeping treads of her long legs. Vassiles ignored her.

'Talk to me!' Daemonica stood in his way.

'You already know more than I would have allowed if I had a choice.' Vassiles said angrily. Daemonica didn't move an inch. The firmness in Vassiles' face was replaced by kindness.

'Can't you see I'm just trying to protect you?'Though everything that had happened underground was the exact opposite, she felt he was completely honest with her.

'I have to go. We must not be seen together, it's too dangerous.' With that, he gently but firmly pushed her out of the way and headed toward the harbor.

When Daemonica finally arrived at the Two Suns inn, all smelly and drenched, she wanted nothing more than a hot bath, a dry garment whose scent would not make her nauseous, and a warm dinner. But as soon as she entered the door, the owner himself blocked her way.

'My lady.' Her appearance only momentarily upset him. Then he put on a miserable expression. 'I have bad news...' Of course.

'Our treasure house was robbed last night!' Daemonica managed to keep a stony face. She was slowly getting cold.

'I've lost almost all my savings!' The innkeeper whimpered, trying hard to avoid her gaze.

'What did I lose?' Her words were harsher than she had intended, but under the circumstances, she wasn't too ashamed.

'Well... among other things... We haven't been able to find your sword...' The innkeeper's expression literally melted with regret.

'Get me a bath and a hot dinner.' Daemonica pushed him away very rudely and set off resignedly for her room.