Ch. 2: A Trap

After the first chest, Era'Fel dreamed of finding a whole treasure room. She had yet to find it. The initial room had opened into a hallway crossing from left to right. They had gone right and, after a left, had found a large hall. It was home to another family of giant spiders. After killing them, the hall was theirs to explore. All they found were a pair of boots and an iron ring she now wore, a dirty, plain ring that had been a discouraging blow to her hopes of discovering more. Unfortunately, the real discovery had been the pressure plates. Despite its age and the forest eager to reclaim the ruins, the traps still worked. Tamlen had nearly become a victim before she had shouted a warning.

Two traps were in the hall, one where they entered and the other in front of a door on their left. The hall did continue forward, but the second trap had tickled their curiosity. The door next to it had led into a smaller hallway going straight ahead. Two more pressure plates were in the way, the second one in front of another door. Era knelt down next to it, her fingers moving to disarm it as she had done with the rest.

"While I can't complain, you never have told me how you learned to disable those things," Tamlen commented as he watched her work.

"The shemlen leave lots of simple traps in the forest to catch wild game. One day, I came upon one with a bunny stuck in it," she answered with a grimace. "If only you had heard it, Tamlen. It was squealing and shaking with so much pain and fear that I had to do something."

"Oh, that's where you got your last pet from." Tamlen looked down at the plate. "The shems don't use these kinds of traps, did they?"

Era shook her head. "No, but they're simple enough for me to understand and disarm them," she finished as the trap made a satisfying click.

"I wonder what's behind this door. There has to be something to warrant three traps," Tamlen deduced as he barely waited for the door to open. Era couldn't contain her excited grin as she turned the handle. She threw open the door and took a few steps in, an arrow in her bow.

Era took one glance and felt Victory's hand reaching out to her. Huge cases lined against the wall with carved emblems above each one. Although the cases were closed, her mind was more than happy to fill them with treasures: piles of emeralds, sapphires, and rubies; caches of ironbark; and stacks of Arlathan parchments filled with their history. Before she could approach the first container, a familiar hiss filled the room. The giant spiders anchored themselves to the ceiling before sliding down to the floor with a strand of web. Two died mid-air as arrows speared their heads. "This better be the last of them," Tamlen growled. "I'm getting tired of these delays."

Era couldn't agree more. With silent thanks, the third and final spider died as it raced toward them. The room safe once more, she rushed over to the nearest case. The stone lid was already off of it, which increased her anticipation. The cases, and their lids, were crafted from heavy stone. She wasn't sure if Tamlen and she had the strength to get the lids off. She came to a stop next to it and peered in. "It's empty!"

"I'll check the next one," Tamlen offered as he stepped over to the next one. The lid was also missing. He frowned. "Also empty." One by one, they checked them all. Not one of them contained anything. "How disappointing. I was sure we had found something worthy to bring back to the clan."

Era studied the containers with a mixture of frustration and sadness when she noticed something. "Tamlen, what do you think of their shape?"

"Huh?" Tamlen looked over the containers and shrugged. "I don't know. They look like they were made by the dwarves. You see how they're carved with lots of hard lines. Is that what you mean?"

She shook her head. "No, I feel like it's something else." She crossed her arms as she stared at the boxes. "They look like...the kind of boxes the shemlen put their dead in."

Tamlen's head jerked to her. "They what?"

"I saw it once before in a shemlen village," she explained. "When a shem dies, they put the body in a box and then put it in the ground. These boxes look like the one I saw. Just fancier."

With a tired sigh, Tamlen glared at her. "You know the Keeper told you to stay away from the shemlen places. It's dangerous, and will cause nothing but trouble."

Normally, Era would've been chastened by his warning and angry with herself with revealing her misdeeds. Even though the Keeper had warned her many times to not stray too far from the clan, Era couldn't help it. The shemlen were fun to watch. But, right now, all she could feel was a vague sense of foreboding. Above the death boxes were not emblems as she had believed. They were skulls. Elongated skulls with tusks that were longer than the skulls were. At least, she thought they were tusks. Horns grew from the top of the skulls, and each skull sat on base of sharp limbs that reminded her of spider legs. Suddenly, their little adventure didn't seem as bright as it used to be. "Maybe we should go to the Keeper."

"We still haven't found anything," Tamlen countered. "And we've found nothing more dangerous than the spiders." Finished saying his piece, he headed over to the door leading farther from the exit.

I'm not sure I want to find anything here. She thought as she gave the skulls one more look before she shuffled after her friend. Tamlen gave the door handle a turn, but it denied him. He gave her an expected look before stepping back to give her room. Era toyed with saying no, but she still wanted to find something of worth too. She pulled out her lockpick and made her attempt. To her surprise, the lock denied her as well. "I can't do it."

"Can't?"

"This lock is more complicated than the other ones." Era hoped she didn't sound overly relieved. "I guess this is as far as we can go."

"No, it isn't. Remember the hall we first walk in? We left one of the hallways alone. We'll just go back that way."

"Oh, okay."

Tamlen paused before giving her a bright smile. "Don't sound so worried. There's nothing here that we can't overcome together. I'll keep you safe, okay?"

Her mirrored smile was an imperfect copy. "Okay."

The two backtracked and made their way down the new hallway. Only a few steps into it, they discovered a new surprise. Lying down in the hallway's center was a body. Stained bones wore ancient armor as its black sockets stared upward. Era stared at it. "How long has it been here?"

"Centuries?" Tamlen shrugged as he ambled past it. Tamlen's attention abruptly focused on something ahead of them. "Come this way Era, I think I've found something!" His excitement couldn't counter her worries, but she followed.

At an intersection that branched off to their right, a winged statue stood staring in the new direction. It held a spear and held out its other hand, while wearing a strange headpiece. Beyond this, Era couldn't discern any details. Age and nature had weathered the statue away its face among other things.

Tamlen said, "I can't believe this. You recognize this statue, don't you?"

"It's worn, but it looks vaguely familiar," Era offered him.

"Back when our people lived in Arlathan, statues like these honored the Creators. When the shems enslaved us, much of that lore was lost." Tamlen swept his gaze down the hallway. "This looks like human architecture...with a statue of our people. Can these ruins date back to the time of Arlathan?"

"Perhaps, but there isn't much left down here," Era replied, hoping he would notice her hint.

"Yes," he agreed, his focus directed at the statue. "Time and decay take their toll. Still, there's bound to be something of value!" He turned around and started walking through the new branch. It was short, leading to another large, wooden door.

Era glanced back and forth between Tamlen and the Creator statue. She opened her mouth to speak, but the deep creaking of moving stone filled the passageway. Though the noise echoed throughout the underground chambers, she remembered where it first came from. Tamlen's eyes snapped down as the floor beneath him slid down a couple of feet. As he descended, murky green gas whooshed into his face. Unprepared, he gasped in surprise, giving the fumes the chance to invade his body. Era watched as her friend fell into a coughing fit. She took one step forward before forcing herself to stop. I can't help if I get caught in it too. Abelas, Tamlen! A clank grabbed her focus.

For a moment, she wasn't sure what she was seeing. The skeleton's torso was rising, probably an animal scurrying beneath it. But no animal appeared and the skeleton started to climb onto its feet. She looked toward the ceiling, wondering if a giant spider had accidentally grabbed the corpse. No spider. The corpse was now on its feet, staring at her. Its jaw dropped as it snarled at her. It charged.

A shriek tore out of her throat as her arms reacted on instinct. They grabbed an arrow and fired. The small missile smashed through the rusting armor and flew out through its back, the arrowhead broken and splintered. The skeleton swung its cracked blade as she stood paralyzed. His lungs coughing and hacking, Tamlen dove at her, the collision throwing both of them to the floor. Even as his lungs resisted him, Tamlen hurried back onto his feet as he drew his back-up weapons. Although he and Era were talented archers, he always carried a short sword and wooden shield. Already recovered from its first lunge, the skeleton swung at him, while a second skeleton came down the hallway. "Era! Try for their heads!" he yelled as he blocked the first swipe.

Era glanced between him and the monsters before she clambered onto her feet. Tamlen needs me. I-I have to help. Her fingers fumbled for another arrow. She willed her hands to keep still as she drew the bow.

Tamlen ignored the state of his opponent and focused on the positive. The skeleton moved as though in water. He parried another jab and threw his weight into a downward strike. The attack snapped bone as it ripped off the skeleton's other arm. Before he could press the advantage, the second skeleton moaned and chopped at his face. Tamlen ducked the slow blow. "Era? Help!"

That was her deepest wish as of that moment. But no matter how much she wished she could help, her aim wouldn't stop shaking. With Tamlen so close to the skeletons, she kept foreseeing her arrows sticking out of his back, his cry of betrayal as his blood spilled onto the floor. Seth'assan! I'm useless. The wooden shield cracked and splintered beneath the two blades attacking it.

Tamlen gritted his teeth as he was forced to remain on the defensive. He had to stand his ground. If he was pushed back, he'd endanger Era's life. That was unacceptable.

The beating of her heart reached a fevered pitch as Era saw the inevitable outcome approaching. Death patiently awaited Tamlen unless she intervened. I just need one shot, she desperately pleaded. Tamlen's shield finally broke, a third of it falling to the floor. She loosed an arrow. In slow motion, she saw it sail toward Tamlen. She thought she was going to faint as panic stood poised to overwhelm her, her chest heaving up and down.

The arrow missed Tamlen.

It hit the second skeleton's skull.

With a clatter, its bones collapsed to the floor. A moment later, Tamlen's sword sliced through the remaining skeleton's neck. It collapsed. Era stared warily at the bones. Then, she collapsed. Tamlen knelt by her side in an instant as he spoke reassurances. All she could hear was her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn't slow it down, but she managed to stop shivering after a minute.

"We're alive. We're alright," Tamlen repeated, his hand stroking her hair.

She didn't like that. Only Fenarel was allowed to do that. Gradually, her heart relaxed as did her breathing. She allowed Tamlen to help her back onto her feet. The first thing she said was "I want to go home."

"Easy there," Tamlen replied. "I'm sorry we went through that, I really am. But that has to mean there's something behind that door. Just think of all the riches we'll find in there!"

"What if we find more traps? What if more of those… things attack us? Do you really feel healthy after breathing in that green gas?"

Just to reassure her, Tamlen took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Whatever it was, it didn't last long. So, the traps aren't that dangerous. And we can kill these walking skeletons. There's nothing we can't handle. Do you really want to turn back now after we've come so far?" he implored.

She wavered. Despite the fear lurking in the shadow of her heart, she didn't want to prove her worthlessness by running away. Maybe there was something through the door that could help the clan. The faded statue loomed behind her, a continuing example of all they had lost. But the skeletons. Something dark was at work there. Something she didn't want to find. Tamlen watched her, confident and pleading. With a deep breath, she said, "One more room. We check one more room and no matter what, we leave."

Tamlen frowned but nodded. "Very well, lethallin."

Their course set, they went through the large door with Tamlen leading. A deep snarl welcomed them. In the middle of a circular chamber stood a tall mirror, guarded by matching stone statues and raised onto a dais. From behind the mirror, an angry bear lumbered towards them. Relieved to be fighting something natural, Era fired and lodged an arrow into its leg. Instead of tumbling forward, the bear roared and sped faster. Tamlen took a step forward and held his broken circle of a shield out as he waited for the inevitable charge. No hope of crippling this one. He's too angry. Era thought as she readied her second arrow, aiming for its head. The more difficult shot required her to carefully watch and wait for the right moment. The bear was halfway across the chamber. Then she realized it wasn't a bear.

It was the same shape and size of a bear. But a real bear didn't have spikes protruding from its body. A real bear wasn't missing half of its fur. A real bear didn't have two long fangs in its snout. "By the creators!" Tamlen shouted. "What, what is that thing?" The monster widened its jaws and clamped down on Tamlen's broken shield, the two fangs stabbing into his arm. He screamed before the monster reared back on its hind legs, pulling the hapless elf up with it. Fear suffocated Era as she watched her best friend flail and cut at the monster. The small cuts only angered the beast as it began to shake its prey. A fleshy rip broke through the air, and Tamlen yelled.

The sound snapped Era into action as she fired into where the monster's heart should have been. The arrow thudded into its underbelly and the monster thundered as it flung Tamlen across the room. It landed back on its fore paws as it eyed her. She reacted, firing on instinct. The arrow punctured its eye. With a surprised yelp, the creature died. As soon as it lay still, Era sprinted. "Tamlen! Tamlen!"

Her best friend hissed as he sat upright. "I'm here. I'm alive." He winced again as he dropped his useless shield. "My arm. I think it wrenched it. "

Era stared at his arm. Blood poured out of it as Tamlen gulped down a poultice. "We should get you back to the Keeper."

"Not yet," he insisted, while the bleeding subsided. "Help me up, and we'll search the room first. Then, we'll go." His attention was drawn to the mirror. "Let's start with that." He walked over to it, cradling his arm. Era reluctantly followed. As they climbed up the steps onto the dais, they noticed writing etched on the bronze frame holding the mirror. "It's beautiful, isn't it? I wonder what the writing says."

"Stand back. We can't be sure it's safe," Era cautioned as she glanced at the dead monster. Even in death, it was horrific to look at. She wished it would simply dissolve away.

"It sat here for who knows how many centuries-what could be so dangerous? Don't worry I won't break it. I wonder what this writing is for? Maybe this isn't-hey, did you see that?" Tamlen squinted at the mirror as he took a step closer. "I think something moved inside the mirror."

She had seen it. A ripple shimmering in the mirror. Era could hear her heart beating faster again. Nothing they had found in this place had been welcoming. "Get away from it, Tamlen," she murmured.

"Hold on, I just want to know what it is." Another small ripple appeared and disappeared. "Don't you see it? There it is again!" He moved forward until he was standing directly in front of it. "Can you feel that? I think it knows we're here. I just need to take a closer look."

"Tamlen…" Era said as she took an unwanted step toward him. All she wanted to do was pull him away from the strange mirror, but he was completely fixed on it.

"It's, it's showing me places," he began, his fingers sliding on the surface. "I can see...some kind of city. Underground. And, there's a great blackness." While he spoke, the mirror resonated to his touch, the surface changing to a purple color, a glowing purple. "It saw me!" He whispered, his awe morphing into panic. "Help! I can't look away!"

What little brave loyalty Era had left crumbled. She turned around and sprinted for the door. Halfway between the mirror's dais and the door, light flooded the room. With the light, a force crashed into her, throwing her off her feet.

Numbed sensation deafened and blinded her to the world. Only pieces of it getting through. The sound of leather stomping on stone. The whistle of a bird. The soft feeling of dirt. Voices. A dark face speaking to her, apologizing. For what, she didn't know as she sunk back into darkness.