The Threads of Destiny - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: The Heart of the Temple

They left the skivver city with Blip, who led them down another tight tunnel almost too small for them to fit through. This one sloped downward slightly, as did the last one, but it didn’t go nearly as far. After just a few minutes crawling, they came back out into the ravine.

They were not at the bottom level, however. This tunnel led dropped out on a small ledge, barely big enough for two of them at a time. They were still fifty feet up. Below him, a crumbling stone pillar stood maybe four feet away and ten feet lower. Below that, wedged into the ravine, was a piece of what might have been part of the floor, maybe another ten feet down.

“You can’t be serious,” Grace, who came out of the tunnel behind him, muttered. “We’ll break our necks.”

“The safest way. Trust Blip,” the skivver said before leaping down to the pillar with ease, his tiny claws finding purchase on the weathered stone. He looked back expectantly, waiting for them to follow.

Osric exchanged a glance with Grace and leaned down to look into the tunnel, coming face to face with Talia, who was waiting for them to clear out of the way before they came out.

“We’re going to have to jump down. There’s... you’ll see when you get out here. We’ll go one at a time. Just follow the person ahead of you. And be careful,” Osric said to her, before rightening and turning to Grace. “Wait until Talia is out to go, so the people behind us know what to do.”

“Sure,” Grace said, for once not sounding sarcastic.

Seeing Osric was ready, Blip jumped down to the next piece, making room. Osric took a deep breath and leapt. His feet hit the pillar with a jarring impact, nearly sending him stumbling off the edge. He windmilled his arms. Blip looked back up to him again, and then jumped to the next perch.

Osric followed him down, each landing feeling like he was going to go careening over the edge. Above him he heard exclamations and curses as each of his friends followed after him.

The final jump was the worst. It was by far the furthest, and it was dark enough at the bottom that Osric couldn’t be sure where the floor was. To make it worse, Talia’s light was high above him, causing shadows to dance around, obscuring the floor even more.

Not that he had any choices now. He’d already committed this far. With one last leap, he hit the ground hard, pain radiating up his leg. Nothing broken though. He was able to stand and shake it off in time to see a much more nimble Grace touch down next to him, easy as could be.

There was one tense moment when Jasper almost went over the side of the third landing, sending a shower of pebbles down on him. Osric still wasn’t sure how the old man managed to regain his footing, but he did. Thankfully.

“Let’s not do that again,” Talia said when she landed, her elbow bleeding from when she hit the ground and fell forward, smashing on her arms.

“Agreed,” Osric said, helping her up.

Once they were all on the ground, Blip said, “Come on, not far now.”

Blip scurried ahead, leading them through the ruins of the temple’s once-grand entrance. The rooms that once sat here were now mostly crumbled stones, faded remnants of a lost civilization. Blip led them toward the center of the building, stopping just before a half-standing doorway.

“Usually here,” he said, indicating the door.

Osric edged toward it, listening and hearing nothing. Peeking inside, he saw what looked like a makeshift camp, complete with tents and crates that looked much newer than the temple ruins around them.

“Gone,” Osric said.

“But where?” Jasper said, coming up behind him.

“Grace, keep an eye out,” Osric said, as they went in to look through the supplies.

Everything was in good order, as if they’d walked away from it, expecting to come back. The remains of a fire were cold, so it had been some time since they’d been here, but the food stored in a sack near one of the tents was still fresh and good. It had been brought down maybe a week ago at most, which matched with what the Skivver said about new Brethren coming in and the timeline of when Godrey would have dispatched additional men.

“Gone to the center place,” Blip said as they dug through everything. “They come, then go to the center place. They never come back.”

Osric didn’t like the sound of that, but it was almost certainly where they needed to go.

“Show us,” Osric said.

Blip chittered anxiously but led them deeper into the complex. They followed him to a large open area, possibly a courtyard in front of a massive set of double doors that stood cracked open. It wasn’t clear what this area was used for, as it was in the center of an open-air building and was mostly surrounded by debris, some of which looked like it had been pushed aside to clear the area out more.

What was more shocking, by far, however, was the carnage in its center. The bodies of half a dozen men, likely Brethren, lay strewn about, their bodies twisted where they fell. There were still two men standing, fighting some grotesque beetle-like creature that stood about waist-high. It had cuts and slashes in it and even a sword still sticking out of its side.

“One of the two men was swinging a sword desperately, backpedaling, trying to get away from the creature while it lunged forward, its mandibles closing around the mid-section of his friend.

The man’s eyes went wide in shock as the monster lifted him off the ground, letting out a raw, primal scream as the pincers clamped down with an audible crunch Osric could hear from where he was. A scream that was cut short when its powerful jaws closed all the way, severing the man in two pieces.

His friend, with a bellow, reversed his grip and stabbed forward, his sword sinking deep into the beetle’s head. The beetle let out a screech and skittered back a step, wavering, ripping the sword out of the man’s hands. It shook its head, trying to dislodge the weapon, but it was stuck fast. Opening its jaws again, it hissed and a stream of some kind of green, viscous ichor shot out, splatting across the man’s face and armor.

The beetle then took a sideways step, fell over, and spasmed. The man didn’t even notice his victory, screaming himself, trying to simultaneously wipe the green liquid off his face and pull his armor off, as everywhere it had splashed began to smoke. Osric watched in horror as the skin on the man’s face began to blacken and peel, spreading wider and wider, revealing skull and sinew beneath as the substance ate through him. He managed one last scream before falling dead.

And then it was quiet.

“Did that one creature do all this?” Rowan asked, looking at the bodies.

“There are two more beetle things over here,” Jasper pointed to a side of the courtyard, where two more bodies lay, covered in cuts and slashes.

After seeing the acid in effect, no one wanted to get closer.

Blip, hiding behind Osric, let out a whimper.

Osric knelt down, placing a gentle hand on the skivver’s head and said, “You should go back to your people. It’s not safe here. Thank you for all your help.”

“You should leave. Run away,” Blip said, clearly afraid for them.

“I can’t. I wish I could, but we have to do this. It’s important.

Blip looked at him with its big eyes, and then reached under itself, almost like it was rummaging around its own fur, before coming up with a small, very old-looking pendant missing its chain. For a moment, Osric wondered if Skivver had pouches of some kind, like some surface animals had. It would be convenient, given their predilections.

“A gift. For remember Blip,” the skivver said, pressing the pendant into Osric’s hand.

He took the small piece of metal and said, “Thank you, Blip. I’ll treasure it always. Now, go, quickly. Stay safe.”

Blip looked at him another moment, and then scampered off, disappearing into the darkness.

“You don’t have to do this with me,” Osric said, standing. “It’ll be dangerous.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Grace said, before Jasper grabbed the back of her collar, holding her tight.

“We’re with you, Osric,” Jasper said.

Everyone pulled weapons as they approached the large doors. It wasn’t opened enough to get all the way in, and from the position of two of the bodies, it looked like they might have been trying to push it closed and were stopped in the process.

Osric gave one look back to his friends before gripping the massive door and heaving it open. The metal groaned as it pulled back, scraping against the tile, ruining any chance of them sneaking in quietly.

The chamber inside was poorly lit, mostly illuminated by the floating ball next to Talia and the torches put in place by the Brethren outside, creating shadows that danced and moved inside the chamber. Shadows that did not do enough to hide the monstrous creature inside as it turned towards them.

It was a grotesque amalgamation of insect and nightmare, a massive beetle-like abomination with a jagged patchwork of mottled brown and black chitin plates, scarred with deep grooves and fissures. Between the segments, bulbous sacs of grayish flesh pulsated, covered in some kind of slimy substance that reflected light.

Where pincers should have been, a gaping maw split its face, a ragged hole lined with needle-like teeth, some kind of dark green viscous fluid dripping from it.

As Osric watched, one of these sacs pulsated more than the others, and a beetle-like creature burst through it, leaping to the ground, snapping its small pincers at them.

“By the gods,” Rowan breathed. “What is that thing?”

As if in response, the creature let out a bone-shaking roar, a sound that was part insectoid chitter, part agonized howl. It reared up on its hind legs, towering over them, its bulk filling the chamber.

Rowan reacted instantly, notching an arrow and releasing it at the monstrous creature, managing to sink the shaft into softer skin between two of the hard plates protecting the beast.

A putrid odor filled the room as its dark, black blood began seeping from the wound, eliciting another roar from the creature.

Cinder darted forward, leaping at the smaller beetle, the two bowling over as their jaws snapped at each other. Grace was not far behind the wolf, dodging past the spindly legs of the behemoth and stabbing as they rolled around, her blade managing to find the beetle while avoiding Cinder.

Talia and Jasper stayed back, each performing magic in their own way. Talia slammed her staff down, again bringing up the magical barrier to protect her. Jasper called for his god’s favor, once again filling Osric with a warmth and confidence.

Osric gave a roar, almost out of reflex, as he charged forward, longsword held in a high grip, swinging at the creature as soon as he got close. The blade skidded along one of the hard pieces of carapace before sinking into flesh. The creature wrenched back, nearly pulling the blade out of Osric’s hand, who managed to pull the weapon just in time before he became disarmed.

As it landed, another of the pulsating sacs on its abdomen began quivering before, with a sickening sound, bursting open, sending another of the small beetle creatures to the ground.

The smaller creature managed to dislodge Cinder, throwing the wolf free. Its mandibles snapped out at Grace, clamping down on her leg, eliciting a cry of pain.

Cinder rebounded from being thrown off and charged again, snapping down on the edge of the smaller creature’s mandible, forcing it to release Grace, who stumbled back, a nasty gash across her thigh.

“There are more of them!” Rowan warned, releasing another arrow, which sank into the creature a hand span from the first.

Grace started to move back in when the second small beetle the creature released charged at her. Dancing aside, although not as effectively as before, her leg giving a little as she put weight on it, she managed to rake her sword across the new beetle’s side before pushing hard, managing to pierce its exoskeleton and into the creature itself, which screeched and leaped back, abandoning its charge.

Talia, who had been looking up at the ceiling, began weaving her hands, casting a spell. Except this one didn’t emit electricity or acid or glowing bolts. Instead, high above them, a piece of the still-intact roof of the temple pulled free, floating on its own for a moment as it spun in mid-air until the most pointed of its edges faced down, toward the creature. And then gravity took over, the large piece of masonry and tile plummeting into the huge creature, the weight of it cracking the carapace along its back and causing it to stagger sideways slightly.

Osric followed it, his sword stabbing up into its unarmored underbelly before dashing back out, just in case the beast tried to drop its weight on him. Its large leg kicked out, only to be blocked by a golden, shimmering barrier that formed around Osric.

Confused, Osric looked back to see Jasper holding his hand out toward him, clutching the symbol of his god in the other. Osric gave the cleric a nod of thanks before returning his attention to the giant creature, which was focusing on him now. 

The creature’s massive jaws clamped down on him, hooked fangs sinking into his flesh as it lifted him from the ground. He cried out in pain. The beast shook him violently.

In spite of the pain and disorientation, Osric managed to bring up his sword, thrusting the point forward as hard as he could into the creature’s mouth. It screeched and tossed its head hard to the side, releasing him and sending him flying across the room. He crashed against a far wall and then into the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

Below the massive creature, one of the smaller beetles tried charging Grace, but the nimble thief leaped off it, placing a hand on its hard back and using its own body to help her clear the danger. As she did, she stabbed downward with her short sword, piercing the center line of its carapace and deep into its body.

Jasper tried to help, using the heavy mace he hadn’t employed until now, but the blow glanced off the creature’s hard exoskeleton, it barely seeming to notice.

Only Rowan continued to have success, sinking yet another arrow into the massive creature. Not that any of them seemed to be slowing it down. At least not until Talia’s hands stopped their weaving and thrust forward, a gout of flame erupting from her outstretched hands, engulfing the beast and its spawn. A sickly burning smell filled the room as the beasts cooked, the one Cinder had been fighting shriveling up as it cooked inside its own carapace.

It was a good blow, but they were not done. The creature shuddered once more, sending one of its spawn crashing down, poised to skitter across the floor at them.

The beast immediately lunged at Grace, who danced aside before countering, plunging her sword straight into the beast’s open jaws, the hilt of her weapon the only thing keeping its jaws from closing on her arm as it convulsed in death throws.

Across the room, Osric struggled to his feet. He could feel pain, both from the rough impacts and the numerous wounds from where the creatures’ fangs had pierced his skin. Part of him wanted to stop, to sit for a moment, but he couldn’t. His friends were still fighting for their lives. Gripping his sword, he pushed away the pain and dashed back into the fray.

The large central creature turned its head back to the humans in front of it as well, looking directly at Jasper. Opening its maw again, Osric could see a sickly green liquid bubbling up in its throat. He had seen what that vile liquid could do and pushed harder to get to his new friend, knowing he wouldn’t reach him in time.

Thankfully, Talia was faster. Even as it started to look at Jasper, Talia had begun weaving a spell. As a line of the acidic substance shot toward the cleric, Talia’s hands extended, creating a shimmering barrier above him. The acid splashed against it and then deflected to land on the ground several feet away, hissing and steaming as it ate holes in the floor.

Grace’s luck finally ran out as one of the smaller creatures also spit acid, without any shield to block this line of noxious sludge. It landed against her chest and she screamed, gripping at her clothing to stop the pain. Thankfully, Jasper was near her. Placing a hand on her head, a white light shined against her as he called out to his gods for help in protecting and healing her. As soon as the light started, the pain on Grace’s face went away.

Osric was almost back to the beast when he felt his feet lifting off the ground. For a moment, he was in shock, unbelieving that this beast continued to have new, amazing powers at its disposal, until he looked down and saw Talia concentrating, her hands outstretched.

It took him a moment to understand what was happening as he raised higher and higher. She was moving him toward the creature, above it. He made eye contact with his friend, who gave him a slight nod. Readying himself, he felt the invisible force holding him aloft dissipate and gravity take hold. As he fell toward the creature, he stabbed down, his sword piercing into its back, using it as an anchor to hold him in place and keep him from sliding off.

It was a good thing he did, because the beast chose that moment to roar and rock back on two legs, before crashing back down, its weight shaking the room and charging forward. There was nothing he could do as Rowan, Grace, Jasper, and Talia were sent flying in all directions as it charged through them. Wedging his shield between the carapaces to continue having a hold on the creature, Osric withdrew his sword and stabbed down again and again, a pool of ichor forming at his feet.

Below him, Cinder, who had managed to avoid the charging beast, snarled and clamped down on the upper face of one of the smaller beast creatures, fangs piercing through the unprotected flesh, then shaking hard, whipping the creature’s head back and forth. It shrieked and went limp as Cinder released it, sending its body to the floor.

Osric held on tight as the beast realized there was something on its back, hurting it. It began shaking violently, trying to dislodge him. Osric sank his sword into its back, barely managing to keep on the creature as it shook violently.

Across the room, his friends were struggling to their feet, battered and dazed from the creature’s charge, and headed back into the fray. All except Talia, who struggled to get up. Jasper rushed to her side and knelt beside her, placing both hands on her, praying, his eyes closed tight. The white light came again, concealing both of them for a moment. When it receded, Talia looked better, more conscious, and began to stand.

Grace ignored the two smaller creatures still fighting Cinder and ran at the large beast, apparently coming to the same conclusion as Osric. They needed to stop this thing before it killed them. Leaping, she kicked off its leg, grabbed the side of a carapace, flipped up, and then used her sword like Osric had his - as a climbing tool - pulling herself up to join him.

There were now two on its back, hurting it, cutting into it. The beast thrashed harder, trying to dislodge them, both holding on desperately.

Meanwhile, Rowan had found his dropped bow and began shooting again, this time at one of the smaller creatures that was scuttling rapidly toward him. He kept firing, but it was a much smaller target, and only one of the four arrows he shot at it connected. The rest bounced off its exoskeleton. Reaching him, its mandibles snapped onto his leg. Only the fact that he got the shaft of his bow in the way kept it from severing the limb entirely. It still cut into him deeply, crushing down on his leg and starting to splinter the bow, causing him to scream in pain.

They needed to end this. Osric pulled his sword free and took two, long leaps, hoping that, if he were in the air, the thing couldn’t knock him off, finally landing near the beast’s head. As he landed, he brought his sword down with all of his might just beyond the end of its hard protective plates, pushing his sword all the way down, putting every bit of his strength and weight behind it as it punctured through sinew and bone, until it was buried to the hilt.

The creature, staggered twice, shuddered, and collapsed over. Osric pulled his sword free as he was flung off the creature, landing much harder than Grace, who managed to end up on her feet after being flung free.

Across from them, he could see Cinder, cut and bloody, wrestling the second to last smaller beetle to the ground, tearing at its neck and head. The final beetle was being dealt with by Talia and Jasper, who were hitting it over and over with their staff and mace, respectively, while Rowan used a knife to stab into the beetle’s eyes, trying to get it to let him go.

It finally did, releasing him as it convulsed and died.

And just like that, the battle was over. They were far from unscathed, with most of the group cut, bruised, punctured, and burned by acid. Grace and Rowan were limping badly, Rowan using half of his broken bow as a cane to stay upright, fighting the pain of his severely injured leg. Osric could feel blood pooling inside his armor.

He and Jasper did what they could to heal the group, praying to the gods for their assistance, but Osric was finding that each time he used the power the veilguard had given him, it took a little out of him. He could not do it indefinitely, and it seemed Jasper was much the same.

They were able to stabilize everyone and repair the worst of the damage, so that none were in danger of perishing, but that was as far as they could manage. They would all be the walking wounded for some time.

“Osric, look,” Talia said, pointing past where the beast had been standing.

Osric followed Talia’s gaze to a small altar at the back of the room, still mostly obscured by the monstrous creature’s bulk. Atop it sat a piece of parchment, the edges ragged and torn, as if it had been ripped from a larger document.

He walked toward it, almost holding his breath. He couldn’t believe it, after all that searching, the pain, the multiple times they’d been on the brink of death, he’d found it.

As he reached the pedestal, he could see that the parchment was indeed covered in the same strange script as the one they had found in the keep what seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Is that it?” Rowan asked, limping over to join him.

“I think so. I think this is what we’ve been looking for.”

“Great. Can we get out of here now?” Grace said, limping to his other side. “This place gives me the creeps.”

“We should be able to take the Brethren’s elevator back up. Just … be careful.”

Thankfully, the trip back to the long drop off and the cage that led back to the surface was painful and slow, but uneventful.

“Do you feel that?” Jasper asked as they got near the exit.

Talia nodded. “Whatever I felt before is gone. The air feels... lighter.”

“I think killing that creature did more than just clear our path,” Jasper said. “I think that thing was somehow affecting the veil, like a stain on reality. Now that it’s gone, the veil is returning to its natural state.”

Osric considered this as they piled into the elevator, the mechanism groaning as it carried them back up to the temple’s main level. Was it that easy? Probably not. There seemed to be multiple things causing harm to the veil, each interconnected and affecting each other.

Still, they’d fixed this one. It had to matter, in some small way, each time they lessened the damage done to their world.

As they emerged into the antechamber to the temple’s roof, Osric thought he caught a glimpse of movement in the shadows. Small, furry shapes darting between the rubble. Skivvers, perhaps? But when he looked again, they were gone.

They made their way out of the temple, each step a little easier than the last as the promise of fresh air and open sky drew them onward. And when they finally emerged, blinking, into the sunlight, Osric couldn’t help but gasp. The sky, which had been a sickly color when they entered, was now a clear, vibrant blue.

“Would you look at that,” Rowan said, a grin spreading across his face. “Seems like the world’s looking a bit brighter.”

Osric looked around at his companions, battered and weary, but alive and victorious. They had faced unimaginable horrors and come out the other side. They had found what they were looking for.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get back to Avendell. We still have work to do.”