ercy ission - Part 2- Dragon Quest

The Passages Of Arentilla

Trimus looked around. As far as he could see were mountains and the one he stood upon was higher than any. Behind the dragon was a wide, dark cave set into the side of a nearly vertical cliff. Trimus shivered, he like the others was dressed for the tropical heat of Ierendi, not the cold and strong winds of mountains. As Trimus looked up he could see other dragons. Some perched on their mountain top kingdoms, others gliding through the air.
"Welcome to Arentilla." Said the dragon. "Let us go inside, I see that you are cold."
He led the companions into the cave, the walls had been smoothed by the passage of tough scales over many years. Tall and broad a boulder set into the roof of the cave magically illuminated the cave. At the back was a large pile of treasure. Gems trinkets, weapons, armour and coins, lots of coins. The dragon made itself comfortable upon the top of the pile and curled its tale around the pile with a contented sigh. Jodotha's eyes lit up as he gazed upon the treasure and his hands balled into fists as he contained the urge to help himself to a king's ransom in diamonds and sapphires.
"I apologise for the lack of accommodation, but please make yourself comfortable." Said the dragon graciously.
"What do you want us to do?" asked Trimus, arms folded across his chest. The dragon brought his head very close to Trimus' till the young mage's eyes were watering from the wyrm's sulphurous breath. The beast pulled back before speaking.
"Arentilla is a small realm ruled by dragons such as I, we live here apart from and undisturbed by more mortal races. It is too our shame that we have need of something you posses, your size. We are suffering a plague of creatures. Large spiders live in our passages, in those parts of our domain that are too narrow for us. They used to do a useful task for us, carrying away and consuming out waste, our leavings but now they have started to steal our eggs and we want them back. We have tried breathing down the passages but they have gone too deep."
"If we refuse, or fail?" asked Darkhawk.
"Then I will return you to the land I found you and carry on searching for others."
"And if we succeed?"
"Then you may each choose an item from my horde." The dragon ran his fight fore claw through a pile of gems and coins.
Trimus looked at his companions and they all nodded their silent agreement.
"Good." Said the dragon. "Now let me show you to the entrance to the lesser caverns." The dragon rose from the drift of coins, upon which he had lain, some of which had jammed between the softer scales of his belly. He led the companions through a series of caverns of decreasing size until they came to a dead end deep within the heart of the mountain. He pulled a large boulder easily away from the wall revealing a low passage behind it.
"Good luck." The dragon said standing aside to let the companions pass inside.

At first the passage was both low and narrow with a rough roof that caught shoulders and heads alike. It soon widened enough to allow all but Darkhawk to walk upright before plunging steeply down. Twisting this way and that the tunnel descended, the air getting warmer all the time until eventually it levelled out and divided into two passages, one heading south the other west. They followed the southern passage for about two score paces until it started to open out into a large irregular cavern. They followed the western edge of the cave as it curved around to the west and narrowed again to a bare six feet or so across.

After about thirty feet the passage ended at the edge of a void. On the other side of the fifteen-foot wide chasm they could make out a narrow passage continuing westward. Jodotha edged up to the chasm and scratched the beginnings of a beard.
"Darkhawk." He said quietly. "Can I borrow a coin?"
"Sure." Replied the fighter plucking a copper from his pouch.
Jodotha thanked Darkhawk and flipped the coin into the void and waited. He raised his eyebrows when after several tens of heartbeats he still had not heard the coin strike or splash whatever was at the bottom of the chasm. Just then the glow of their gems was reflected back by a octet of brightly gleaming eyes on the far side of the chasm. Jodotha swiftly drew his crossbow and launched a quarrel at the spider that was watching them. His shot missed by Darkhawk's aim was truer, all three of his smaller bolts struck home causing the creature to scamper away.
"They know we're here." Muttered Ako.
"All the more reason to get across swiftly then." Said Jodotha tying a rope around his waist before passing the other end to Darkhawk. He took a dozen long paces back from the edge then sprinted forward and leapt gracefully across the gap to land safely the other side. He removed the rope and tied it to a pair of iron spikes hammered into the wall while Darkhawk did the same with a pair of spikes on the eastern side. The blows of hammer upon spike echoes loudly through the caverns. As Jodotha was putting his hammer away the spider that had been watching them returned still baring the three crossbow bolts from Darkhawk's weapon. Jodotha struggled to get his sword free as the arachnid tried to bite him. Behind him Darkhawk began to cross the chasm, swinging arm over arm as he traversed the rope. A gasp made Jodotha turn around, he saw Darkhawk swinging by one hand the other flailing around as he tried to grab the rope. In that instant the spider darted in and nipped Jodotha on the left leg just above his long black boot. The rogue got his sword free and struck before leaping over the spider, landing in time to see Darkhawk drop from the rope onto the ledge waving Trimus across to follow him.

The mage wiped his hands on his robe before grabbing the rope. At first he made good progress, the muscles developed working in his father's forge serving him well.
"Don't look down!" called Ako, who regretted this as the mage did exactly that. The dark void beneath him unnerved Trimus who gulped down a mouthful of bile. His palms started to sweat profusely and it seemed that each swing from hand grip to hand grip took longer and covered less distance than the one before. He was barely half way across when his left hand slipped and he swung for an instant in mid air.

Darkhawk had no time to watch Trimus' acrobatics, we was too busy dealing with the spider. The creature was nimble and moved quicker than the tall fighter on the uneven floor. Each manoeuvre took the fighter closer to the edge of the precipice. Jodotha tried to aid him but the poison from the spider was making his thigh throb causing him to stumble whenever he put too much weight on that leg. One of these stumbles caused Jodotha to fall to the ground his sword spinning towards the edge of the void. As the spider watched the shiny metal for an instant, Darkhawk took his chance and plunged his sword deep into the spider. The creature fought on briefly before expiring. Jodotha grabbed his sword and took up a position by the western end of the cavern while Darkhawk watched Trimus struggle. The mage was still swinging by one arm, trying to reach the rope with the other.
"Drop your pack." Urged Darkhawk.
"Never!" replied Trimus, "My spellbook is in there! I'd rather take my chances with the fall."
The adrenaline brought on by the fear of loosing his precious, but heavy, spellbook was all the encouragement that Trimus needed. One final swing and his grasping hand clutched the rope. He made no further mistakes on the way across and collapsed in an exhausted heap as eventually his feet touched solid rock once more. Ako made the crossing look easy and he untied the rope as Cain did the same at the other end. The mystic then took a short run up and leapt acrobatically across the gap landing silently beside Trimus' slumped form.
Ako removed the poison that was coursing through Jodotha's veins while Trimus picked himself up and made ready to move on.

The passage forked after about twenty feet the north passage ended in an ancient rockfall after a scant ten paces while the southern one forked again after fifty feet or so. Jodotha pointed at the ground. Glistening in the light of their glow gems were a couple of patches of glistening green blood, spider blood, in the mouth of the southern passage. With Darkhawk at the head they marched south and after no more than twenty paces the passage opened into a wide but low ceilinged chamber. They heard the spiders before they saw them. Jodotha barely had time to draw his sword before the first of the pair was upon him, biting the rogue on the wrist. He tried to jump over his assailant but his foot slipped in a patch of blood and he actually fell on top of the spider instead. Dropping his sword Jodotha clung to the creature's back with his left hand while his other hand, already becoming numb and stiff reached to his belt for a dagger. Trimus retreated to the end of the passage to watch for other spiders while Darkhawk and Ako attacked the spiders with Cain watching for an opening.

Gripping the dagger's hilt as hard as his stiff fingers would allow Jodotha plunged the blade into one of his mount's eyes. The creature screeched and bucked trying to throw Jodotha off but the rogue gripped tighter and repeatedly struck with his blade until the creature's face was a bloody ruin. Crazed with pain and blinded the spider ran in confused circles until a final deep thrust by Jodotha finished it off.

As Trimus looked down the passage he saw the glinting eyes of more spiders. He warned the others with a hoarse shout before quaffing a potion of bug repellent. He stood aside as the spiders passed him by, waiting for the best moment to strike back and aid his colleagues. The battle was long and hard. The spiders could spin long strings of webbing and pull themselves up onto the ceiling before dropping back down upon an unsuspecting victim. Eventually the last spider was dispatched and they stood around to catch their breath. Jodotha was walking very stiffly. He had taken a number of bites from the spiders and now was feeling very strange. Ako came over and examined the rogue before casting a spell of poison neutralisation and healing spell on him. Trimus also bound up the worst of his friend's wounds. Feeling mush better Jodotha climbed the wall to examine more closely the webs that covered the ceiling.
"I can see no eggs but I will burn the webs just in case." He called down to Trimus, who struck a light and handed the rogue a burning torch. Jodotha touched the flame to the web and a the hole lot shrivelled and burnt in an instant.

They returned to the main passage and continued westwards until they reached a hole in the passage floor. Trims prodded at the ledge that ran around the north side of the hole nervously with his staff. It appeared sound and Darkhawk proved it by edging along it, his back to the wall. The others followed him and they continued along the passage. The passage opened into a roughly circular chamber with exits to the north and south, the companions took the north passage, which soon split to go roughly, west and east. The east meandered to a dead end after fifty feet or so causing the companions to retrace their steps and head east. Thirty feet past the junction the passage split again causing Jodotha to curse.
"I hope someone is making a map of this." he grumbled.
"I thought you were." Gasped Trimus a cold fear gripped his stomach. "We could be lost down here."
"We could always follow the trail of dead spiders." Murmured Darkhawk.
"Don't worry." Said Cain. "I remember the way out, I have a good memory. All you have to do is keep me alive." The mystic grinned wryly and the companions moved on.

The passages continued to wind and divide as they progressed deeper and deeper into the heart of the mountain. The next large chamber they entered filled with the sound of running water. The chamber was nothing more than a slightly enlarged passage with a wide but low tunnel that sloped steeply down to the west. While the others took a bite to eat Jodotha crawled down the slope. As he did so the sound of water got louder and louder. At the base of the slope was a swift running stream. The water was as clear as the finest crystal and icy cold to the touch. Jodotha filled his waterskin and returned to the others. Turning east at the next junction they came to another large cavern. Half way across the cavern the floor dropped some twenty feet.
"Down there." Whispered Cain. "Three spiders." Darkhawk nodded and took out his crossbow, as did Jodotha. They each fired a couple of rounds wounding the creatures which then started to scuttle up the face of the low cliff that separated the two half's of the cavern. Dropping their crossbows, Jodotha and Darkhawk started to strike out with swords. Aided by Ako and Trimus, the latter succeeding in prising one of the spiders from the wall with his staff, they killed the creatures before they could harm anyone.
"A good job too." Said Ako. "I have little curative magic left."

After climbing down to the lower level they found that there were two passages leading east. Both had very low entrances and even Cain had trouble crawling into the northernmost passages. At one point Cain had to push Darkhawk while Ako yanked from the front. After a few tens of yards of crawling the passage widened and the roof rose to a more comfortable height.
"Can you smell it?" asked Trimus taking long, deep breaths.
"Smell what?" asked Darkhawk.
"Fresh air." Replied Ako who was also sniffing the air. "We have been stuck in musty, dusty passages for so long I'd forgotten what fresh air smelt like."
"It probably means that this is the wrong way, the dragon said that the spiders took the eggs deep inside the mountain." Cautioned Jodotha.
"True but I want to see the sky and feel a breeze on my face." Trimus started walking off towards the source of the fresher air. Before long the passage started to slope steeply upwards and the last fifty feet or so were very hard work indeed, but the effort was worth it. The companions, led by Trimus, emerged onto a wide smooth ledge high up in the mountains. Below them eagles soared on thermal currents as they searched for prey while higher up dragons mimicked their spiralling flights. The edge of the ledge showed deep gouges and scratches suggesting that dragons perched or nested here once, but the cave they had emerged from was barren and long deserted. The sun was high in the sky and the mountain blocked the strong winds causing the companions, particularly Ako and Darkhawk sweltering in their heavy armour.
"I could stay here for ever." Sighed Cain gazing at the dragons and eagles and the mountains beyond.
"Getting something to eat might be difficult." Muttered Darkhawk and everyone laughed.
Slipping and stumbling down the steep slope they returned to the caverns and the darkness.

Trimus and the others explored further caves and passages. Many were festooned with streamers and sheets of sticky webs but not contained more than a few fragments of dragon eggshells. Trimus dutifully collected these and placed them in a pouch to return to the dragon prince when they returned to him. One cavern they explored contained nearly a hundred white orbs, each about the size of a fist. Jodotha sliced one open revealing a half-formed spider inside. The others joined him in destroying the eggs, a task that left weapons and clothing covered in a sticky white fluid. From here the passages sloped downwards sometimes wide and safe at other times the path was no more than a six inch wide ledge running many feet above fast flowing underground streams where a single misstep could lead to disaster.

"Still know the way out, Cain?" Darkhawk joked as they walked down another water worn passage.
"Yes." Replied Cain hotly. He was about to add something else when Jodotha held his hand out and waved the others to a halt. Putting his mouth to Ako's ear he whispered.
"I can hear something up ahead, it sounds larger than any of the spiders we have encountered. I will take a look."
The rogue waited for the others to move some ten paces back up the passage before moving silently ahead. Keeping close to the wall with one eye on the ground and another on the way ahead Jodotha moved slowly until he came to a widening of the passage. Hunkering down he peered around the corner and saw something that turned his bowels to water.

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