Hammer of the Gods

Chapter 32

It’s so pretty. Perhaps I could break off a chunk to show Uncle Brandon when we get home?

Searching around the cavern, she noted the white lights of the others which could be seen moving in the distance like fireflies.

Atungitok was the closest to her and she was just about to call him over to look at the beautiful rock, when something grabbed her outstretched hand and began to pull her down. The creature that had a hold of her was a gelatinous monstrosity covered in slime, like some type of giant slug. The light of her stone illuminated the insides of the blob-like creature as it gripped her hand and wrist. It tugged her deeper into the crack as its slimy mouth started to work its way up her arm.

She screamed.

“Help! Atungitok, Jonah, Raphael, help me!”

The little gnome made it over to her quickly and began to pull on her other arm, but the slug was too big and they were being drawn down into the hole. Angelica was terrified as her feet started to slip on the goo laden floor of the tunnel. Round orb-like eyes upon slimy stalks came towards her and began touching her face.

Angelica grimaced as she thrashed trying to escape. She jerked her head away from the dead, black eyes that seemed void of intelligence. The creature likely acted out of instinct and would feel no remorse as it digested its victim.

Try as she might, the power of Solomon’s Ring remained dormant. The doubts of her angelic heritage and her anger at God was like a great dam, blocking the power of a mighty river.

Though the feel of Atungitok pulling her free hand had given brief hope, despair began to take hold of her. He was so small, what help could he offer her anyway?

The slug’s mouth was all the way up to her shoulder now. Lancing pain arced up her arm from dozens of puncture wounds. Each pull against the beast only drove the teeth in deeper into her flesh and muscle. She and Atungitok continued to lose ground as the floor became more slippery the closer to the hole they became. Falling suddenly, her bodyweight increased the agonizing pain near her shoulder where the slugs mouth was clamped tight. In an attempt to relieve the pressure on her injured limb, she pushed herself upright again. All of the sudden she could no longer feel Atungitok’s hands on her wrist. Panicking, she looked behind her thinking that he had abandoned her, or perhaps some other creature had reached him in the darkness. Her lighted stone chased away enough of the gloom for her to make out a small sword being drawn in the dark shadows behind her. The little gnome wore a grim look of determination that she had never seen on his chubby face before. Gone was the playful joking smile, or the angry red face he made during one of his tantrums or outbursts. This look bore the steely gaze of a warrior, although still short and cute like a toddler that pretended to fight, this little gnome was preparing for battle.

Atungitok cried out in his high pitched voice and charged forward. Bounding off one wall, he swung his tiny sword with both hands, severing one eye stalk in two. The black, bulbous orb fell to the floor with a splat. The severed stump retracted into the head of the slug as it vomited up Angelica’s arm, which was now covered in blood and sticky slime.

Angelica was grateful that her arm was still attached to her torso, but a lancing pain and heat emanated from scrapes and cuts which had been left by the teeth of the monster.

Both of them frantically scrambled towards the top of the crevasse, but the slick ooze caused them to slip and they began to slither back down towards the slug as it sought to catch them. Scrambling on all fours, they pushed and pulled at one another, reaching the edge of the floor above. As they rolled over the summit, one bulbous, black eye protruded above the gaping hole.

As the slug slunked towards Angelica, Jonah grabbed her and pulled her away as Nanuk dragged Atungitok to safety.

Gabriel, sword drawn, transfigured into his angelic form. His countenance was like lighting.

The monstrosity undulated towards the archangel with its rows of teeth gleaming from within its round mouth. It appeared as a cross between a giant, garden slug and a tapeworm.

With a swift stroke of his sword the commander of the Cherubim severed the remaining eye.

A terrible hiss emanated from the gaping maw as it backed part way into the crevasse.

Gabriel raised his left hand with his fingers extended before suddenly closing them into a tight fist. The ground trembled at his command as the fissure slammed shut.

The gelatinous monster was splattered across the floor and pieces of its vile coating landed upon the outworlders who cried out in dismay.

Gabriel’s heavenly light dissipated as he took on his human form once more and sheathed his sword across his back.

Meanwhile, Raphael tended to Angelica.

“Let me see your arm,” The brown haired archangel said with a concerned look.

Angelica extended her arm as Raphael set his shield upon the ground. Holding the Caduceus Wand in one hand and her own with his other, he prayed quietly in the angelic tongue as his short-staff glowed in a lavender luminescence.

Angelica sighed as her pain ebbed and the wounds closed.

“Thank you Raphael.”

“You are welcome, but please try to be more cautious.”

The archangel began to rise, but Angelica still clung to his hand.

He smiled at her, “Be of good cheer, all is well. Atungitok may be injured.”

She begrudgingly released her grip as he turned towards the gnome.

After examining the halfling, Raphael stood beside his brother as they spoke in the heavenly language with one another.

Meanwhile, Angelica and Atungitok sat upon the hard floor, breathing heavily for a few minutes as they recounted what had just happened to the rest of the party. After standing, the two of them attempted to wipe the goo from their limbs, with looks of disgust upon their faces.

“Thank you, that was very brave.” Angelica said, looking at Atungitok.

“I couldn’t let that thing have you, Angelica. No one has ever accused me of being brave about anything in my life. Imagine that, Good for Nothing, brave.”

“From here on, no one should wander off alone,” Gabriel said.

After finishing their exploration of the large cavern in pairs, they surmised that if another tunnel had led off from this chamber in years past, it had since been buried by a cave-in. They had no choice but to back track once again and try their chances continuing on across the bridge. Perhaps they would not end up in either of the elven realms and the writing had an entirely different meaning? They spent another night near the river, and ate fish before going to bed. Hiding within their sleeping rolls, the sore and stiff mortals resisted the archangels summons to awake early the next morning.

“Be of good cheer. We should be out of the cold, dark caverns in two days if we are on the right path,” Gabriel said encouragingly.

Angelica tried to shake off the feelings of gloom by talking with her brother. Showing him Solomon’s Ring, she recounted how she came by it through the heavenly visitation of the angel Afriel.

He traced an image of it in his little book next to where he had copied the symbols from both sides of the bridge.

“You know, there is a legend about this ring that I read about a few years ago. It is said that this talisman was stolen from Solomon by the demon, Asmodius. The King had foolishly removed it from his finger for a time. The frustrated, fallen angel could not bring the power of the band to bear however, so he cast it into the sea. Later Solomon was served fish for dinner, and inside was the ring, which was miraculously returned to its rightful user,” Jonah told his sister.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Angelica said as she rubbed the engraved band upon her finger.

They hiked another day through the caverns and stopped for the night. Nanuk, Lorne, Angelica, Jonah, and Atungitok played a game of cards after dinner. Hammerhand was not up to playing a game with a gnome and the archangels were deep in conversation.

Before turning in for bed, Raphael shared with them a story of what happened after the first man and woman were cast out from the Garden of Eden. “Satan continued trying to kill and tempt Adam and Eve during the early days after their expulsion from the garden. The Cave of Treasures where Father told them to dwell after being cast out was not far down the mountain from the enchanted vale. The cave was only fourty-five cubits or about seventy feet below the level of the garden to its west. Flowing to the south were the four rivers which exit from beneath the Tree of Life and Mimir’s Well. To the east was the Great Sea. North was the desolate land where Satan dwelt. The four Faithful archangels, Gabriel, Michael, Uriel and I, I taught the first man and woman about the Great War in heaven.

“But now, O Adam, we will make known to thee, what came upon us through him, before his fall from heaven. He gathered together his hosts, and deceived them, promising to give them a great kingdom, a divine nature; and other promises he made them. His hosts believed that his word was true, so they yielded to him, and renounced the glory of God. He then sent for us according to the orders in which we were to come under his command, and to hearken to his vain promise. But we would not, and we took not his advice. Then after he had fought with God, and had dealt forwardly with Him, he gathered together his hosts, and made war, with us. And if it had not been for God’s strength that was with us, we could not have prevailed against him to hurl him from heaven. But when he fell from among us, there was great joy in heaven, because of his going down from us, for had he continued in heaven, nothing, not even one angel would have remained in it. But God in His mercy drove him from among us to this dark earth; for he had become darkness itself and a worker of unrighteousness. And he has continued to make war…” The First Book of Adam and Eve. Chapter LV. Vs 8-15.

The weary mortals sought the solace of their sleeping bags shortly after dinner.

***

Jonah squinted his eyes for he was suddenly blinded by a bright light. When the aura cleared he noticed a tall, dark figure standing nearby.

Satan seemed preoccupied.

Though he should have been terrified, Jonah felt detached and remained frozen in place.

The fallen archangel held a jagged, black sword. He pointed off in the distance, “Behold.”

Following the Devil’s gaze, the mixed-blood, mortal man realized they were standing upon a shear cliff. Below where they stood he could see a wide valley, divided by a brisk river which twisted and branched upon a rocky plane. Farther from either shore, beyond the barren fields, were vast jungles and rolling hills. In the distance were lofty peaks, capped by white crowns of snow. This did not appear to be the world Jonah was familiar with. Nor did it remind him of his brief visit to Hell. This place had a white sun, and the plants were abnormally large…almost prehistoric looking. The professor gripped the staff of Moses with both hands where it stood vertically before him. Surprisingly, he had not summoned its power to combat the enemy standing nearby, nor did he feel fearful, but rather indifferent to the Prince of Darkness. Gone was the clothing he had worn in Alaska. His jeans, sneakers, and t-shirt had been replaced by a hooded cloak of curious workmanship, leather pants, boots and a green twill shirt with finely crafted embroidery of gold. The colors of the cape shifted and changed like the skin of an octopus in mimicry of what was nearby.