Chapter 18: The Chain of Command
There was nothing, nothing but the sound of Aalik's footsteps as he walked through the void, following the ever-stronger call of the crystal. Long gone where the eye-less, mouthless shapes that sought him, though he never gave them much thought, no matter how much the map squirmed about it.
Eventually, the darkness receded, illuminated by the familiar light of luminescent crystals at the end of the tunnel. Aalik picked up the pace. He walked into an enormous chamber, filled with hundreds and hundreds of tunnel endings across its intricate, crystal-covered, maze-like walls. And not too far from him was an enormous, pitch-dark pit.
All of this mattered little to Aalik, for he knew exactly where to go, but the growing guilt of his missing friends kept him from going any further than the crystal commanded. He was at a standstill, struggling to divert himself from his path, in order to look for his companions, while being pulled against his will, by the same power that brought him there to begin with.
I'M…NOT…GOING…ANYWHERE…LET…ME…GO! Aalik screamed internally.
Such was his inner fight that he did not notice the scratching noise of metal over stone coming from one of the nearby tunnels. Fortunately for him, the map did.
"GET DOWN!"
Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise, Aalik broke off his ongoing struggle and immediately dropped to the ground, dodging the razor sharp edge of a thrown dagger at the very last moment. The weapon bounced off harmlessly on the floor and fell directly into the pit. It never hit the ground.
"Oh, I've been looking for you."
Aalik recognized the voice, despite how twisted and broken it sounded. He quickly turned around and picked himself up. Atop one of the many passageways of the chamber was Flemming, along with three other soldiers. Out of the entire group, Flemming appeared to be the most collected, compared to his erratic, paranoiac underlings. Which was, of course, not saying much.
"Oh I do hope you can forgive me! My hand must've…slipped," Flemming apologized mockingly with a trembling smirk.
"What happened to the rest of you?" Aalik asked unflinchingly.
Flemming's eyes trailed off in an almost childish manner, as he thought of an answer. His smirk grew even wider, once he finally did. "Oh…I'm afraid I don't know, perhaps they're still running around these god forsaken tunnels, who knows really. Once I got past that…wall everything has been rather…spotty."
Aalik remained silent and carefully analyzed his surroundings, while keeping a protective hand over the satchel.
Flemming snickered and shook his head with disapproval. "Tsk tsk, such lack of manners, then again what else to expect from the son of a drowned fisherman and a backwater harlot."
Aalik turned to face him, with a glare so intense Flemming found himself taken aback. If just for a moment. "No need to be so dramatic, it was just a slip of the tongue. Now, do be a nice little boy and don't make this harder than it needs to be," Flemming said with a chilling tone. "Hand over that little map of yours and we'll all be on our merry way."
Aalik remained silent. His sights were fixated on Flemming and his underlings, whom were slowly moving their hands towards the hilts of their sabers.
"My, frozen with fear aren't you? That's quite alright I was hoping to take it anyway…" Flemming made a shaky, approbatory hand gesture and the soldiers began to move down the rocky slope, brandishing their weapons as they did.
"Once I'm done with you I'll be sure to make my way to the treasure first, after all, one must seize each and every opportunity in this, oh so capricious world of ours," Flemming glowered before his eyes drifted away into a moony state, as if considering the infinite possibilities of his treacherous plot. "King Flemming, now I do love the sound of that…"
The soldiers tentatively approached Aalik, snarling and flaring their teeth, as if they were but beasts eyeing their prey. Aalik stood his ground and subtly grabbed an object from inside his satchel, with such expertise that none of the lunatics even noticed.
"Gut him!" Flemming ordered whimsically, his eyes still adrift his delusional imagination.
The soldiers jumped, but only one ran as he hit the ground. Despite their near animal-like behavior, the two other soldiers still held onto a tiny sense of self- preservation, and opted to stay behind, as to let their far-gone companion do the dirty work for them.
The crazed soldier roared and lunged at Aalik. Rage and joy mixed in the man's gapped smile as he raised his blade, ready to mow down the boy in front of him. Only for him to feel the pinching pain of a hook deep inside his palate, followed by a sudden pull that sent a shot of searing pain throughout his entire body, causing him to drop his saber and clutch his face in agony as he fell.
Fueled by his fury, the soldier ripped apart the bloodied hook, tearing it from the fishing line, and laughed victoriously. However, his laughs soon became screams of pure terror, as he plunged into the eternal abyss below. Silence reigned as Flemming and his underlings stared at the scene, utterly dumbfounded.
Aalik on the other hand simply picked himself up and dusted off some dirt gained, from performing his maneuver. He grimaced at the sight of his broken fishing line, but threw it away nevertheless, and went back to facing the soldiers, with an almost taunting presence to him.
"KILL HIM!" Flemming fumed and flared his teeth.
The two remaining soldiers stood there unsure of what to do, having just seen what happened to their fallen comrade. That was, until the sight of Aalik's faintly visible sneer let them loose like a pair of rabid hounds.
Aalik merely waited their approach, as he placed his hand inside the satchel once more. The course of action went through his mind, as the bloodthirsty soldiers ran towards him, using the map's warnings as pointers to react accordingly to their assault.
The enraged lunatics were already mere steps away from him once they leapt, with their blades ready to strike. Right in cue, Aalik ducked and rolled out of the way, causing the two soldiers to tumble and fall into the pit. However, just as he was in the middle of his roll, the map shrieked, and a searing pain coursed through his leg.
"AAGH!"
Aalik fell to the ground, clutching and pressing his leg as it bled profusely. His eyes darted about until he saw a blood-covered dagger laying right beside him, dangerously close to the edge of the bottomless pit. Flemming's crazed laughter and snickering taunted him from afar. Just as he painfully crawled and reached towards the dagger, the map's warnings echoed in his mind once again.
It was then that the armored covered hands of the soldiers appeared from the edge of the pit, grabbing ahold of its rocky ledge. The two soldiers chuckled in a bestial manner, as they brought themselves up and just as Aalik was about to grab the dagger, one of them swiftly ran up to it and kicked it away, punting it into the bottomless depths. The soldier, chuckling, then placed his foot over Aalik's chest, pressuring it ever so slowly as a mocking grin grew his face.
Fighting against the combined pain of his wounds and the soldiers crushing heel, Aalik reached out for his satchel, only to have it ripped away from him by the other soldier, who brutally stamped his arm, before throwing the bag away. As the sounds of torturous laughter and his growing wounds plagued him, Aalik felt defeat overpowering his sense of pain and rage. For all he had gone through, all he had to endure and suffer. It would all be for nothing.
The pain in Aalik's chest ceased as a pair of sickening crunches resounded throughout the cavern walls and tunnels. His relief morphed into surprise, once he saw the bodies of the two soldiers slumping to the ground, their expressions frozen along with their wide-open eyes, and right besides each of their twisted heads, necks, and growing puddles of blood, where two large, blood-covered rocks.
"AALIK!"
Aalik turned around as soon as he heard the familiar voice, and jumped from joy as he saw Esben running from afar. "ESBE-" Aalik cried out, but immediately dropped down due the pain of his leg wound.
"STAY DOWN AALIK!" Esben yelled and heaved as he ran to his best efforts.
But much to Aalik's dismay, the more ground Esben covered, the more he came to realize Esben's terrible state, from an accumulation of wounds and a tumbling stride, to a paling, withering complexion.
"You washed up has been!" Flemming seethed, as he jumped down to the ground floor, saber ready in hand, and placed himself in the middle of Aalik, Esben and the thrown away satchel. "You wish to die so badly hmm? Well I cannot deny my charitable nature…so be it! I'll grant you a painless, long overdue family reunion…just as I will with that little hooligan."
Both Esben and Flemming stood still, watching one another, readying themselves for whomever made the first move, but every moment that passed weighed more and more on Esben's diminishing health.
Seconds became an eternity for Aalik, who could do little else but watch, knowing that Flemming would sooner cut him down than allow him to get any closer to the satchel. So he waited, observing the standstill with racketing nerves.
"DIE!"
Flemming had made the first move. The enraged man roared and ran towards Esben in a frenetic charge, swinging his blade around, with as much dexterity as there was lunacy in his mind.
Aalik pleaded for Esben to get out of the way, but it was for naught, Esben stood his ground. He winced and closed his eyes, feeling the terrifying dread of anticipation, and opened them right away, once he heard the rattling sound of a bone-crunching blow.
Aalik flinched and ducked as Flemming's sword flew right above him, falling and spinning into the bottomless pit in a perfect parabola. He turned back and gasped in shock. Esben had a gruesome, slashing wound on his right arm, one he pretended to ignore with little success, but Flemming had it much, much worse.
Flemming's right hand and forearm where now all but a mockery of what they used to be, a sagging bag of meat holding shattered bones together, all clad in bent armor.
"ARGH…YOU…AGH!" Flemming howled with pain, glaring at his shattered arm before turning back to face Esben with vile intent "YOU WORTHLE-"
The rest of Flemming's words never left his mouth. Esben had unleashed a punch so devastating on the commander's face that even Aalik flinched at its ferocity, despite his deep hatred of Flemming. Now, what had been a pompous, raging lunatic was all but the pitiful sight of a man with half his face caved in, helmet included.
Flemming's shouts and cackling became unintelligible blood ridden mutterings and blurbs, as his consciousness quickly seeped away, as did his life. He dropped knee first to the ground, all the while desperately trying to reach Esben with both of his quivering arms.
Esben frowned solemnly and shook his head, but just when he was about to leave the dying man behind to help Aalik, Flemming's almost imperceptible grin froze him on the spot.
Fueled and kept alive by the remainder of his hatred, Flemming swiftly grabbed and pushed his cloak, raising and throwing a dust cloud straight towards Esben's eyes, blinding the man.
Esben had no time to react, not with his wounds and waning strength. He swung and swung, but all he struck at was air and dust. For a moment, all Esben could hear were his fists, the flapping of Flemming's cloak and Aalik's desperate screams and crawls. Until the characteristic unsheathing of a sword rang in his ears.
"ESBEN!" Aalik wailed to no avail.
Esben cried out with pain as he felt Flemming's hidden sword strike him directly in the chest, and once Flemming drew the blade out, he tumbled and fell to the ground.
Aalik stopped screaming. His face became white with disbelief as he saw not only his mortally wounded friend, but also the sword Flemming used to deal the deadly blow. It was Inigo's sword, held and tainted by Flemming's hands.
Flemming's dying, inhumane laughter filled the chamber, and in one last burst of energy, he sprinted towards Aalik, showing as much glee as one possibly could with a shattered, twisted visage. Aalik could not make it to the satchel in time, not with a crawl, nor with a jump. Flemming was a step away, as was death's inevitable door.
Flemming cackled and raised the sword for his final strike, but it never came. His shriek stopped and became a muted, chocking gasp; and just like that, Flemming fell dead, finally letting go of Inigo's sword.
Aalik dared not move as he stared at the body, and the dagger stuck right in the back of Flemming's neck. His eyes immediately followed the trajectory of the attack and came upon the approaching shape of an armored clad man, walking out of one of the many tunnels. A man Esben soon recognized.
"Well I'll be damned, to think you of all people would act against a superior." Esben laughed weakly, coughing copious amounts of blood as he did. "That's one more off the bucket list."
"Commander," the man saluted with utmost respect and sobriety.
All that cordiality that meant little to Aalik however, for he crawled as fast as he could and placed himself between his friend and the stranger, protecting Esben with the ferocity of a cornered animal. "Don't come any closer, I'm warning you!" Aalik snarled and shot a vindictive glare at the stranger.
The man did not react at all to Aalik's threat, rather he simply knelt down and ripped off a part of his cloak, fashioning a makeshift gauze. However, as soon as he got near Aalik, the boy flinched and crawled away, showing utter disdain of his aid.
"Aalik!" Esben scolded, before heaving from the effort. "He'll do us no harm, won't you Gudmand?"
Aalik collected himself and looked straight into Gudmand's eyes. Esben's words rang true. There was no hidden treachery, no doubt, nor deceit. It was an earnest fire born and tested by the trails of combat and war, a fire of Aalik knew and trusted, just as he knew Inigo and Esben's.
"I will not strike down a man without weapons," Gudmand stated calmly and without skipping a beat, reinforcing his iron-willed gaze. However, just as he was about to treat Aalik's wound the boy retreated once more, showing a look of indignation.
"You…you were there all along weren't you," Aalik whispered spitefully, his voice cracking with emotion as he went on. "Why...why didn't you help him…why? What's wrong with you!"
"The sound of the ordeal alerted me from the depths of the tunnels. I arrived as soon as Flemming struck you, but when I saw the commander coming to your aid, I knew I could not interfere, not as long as he could still fight," the man responded unblinkingly, before frowning in a resolute manner. "A warrior's death is not to be trifled with."
"Shut up," Aalik seethed and stood up, as if the grievous wound on his leg did not exist at all. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"AALIK!"
Esben's domineering shout surprised Aalik, swiftly dousing his growing temper, and had Gudmand not been as experienced when it came to this type of scolding, he too would have been taken aback just as well.
"You need to stop yapping and get with it," Esben scolded Aalik, his voice fading with every breath. "I'm a goner and there ain't no way around that."
"No…no Esben, I'll…w-we'll pick you up, we'll find Inigo and I'll-" Aalik stammered, until Esben firm grasp on his shoulder stopped his choked words.
"Listen to me," Esben whispered, tightening his grip. Aalik sniffed and nodded, allowing Esben to continue.
"Now I don't know why you would, but if you need to weep for me, you can do it all you'd like, but only when you've come back home to your mother," Esben whispered, and for a moment, his eyes trailed off and his face became forlorn and wistful. "I've lost much over the years, and there's not a day I don't regret and wish for things to have been different, for me to have been there, to change things…but I'll never be. What was is and always will be, but…at least….I'm glad, I'm glad that I was able to make a difference now, thank you Aalik."
Esben's grip and breathing grew weaker and thinner with every word, drawing further tears out of Aalik's eyes.
"You're a brave kid Aalik, I know you can do it," Esben smiled warmly, before letting go of Aalik's shoulder, closing his eyes and slumping back into the ground, the rising of his chest now barely visible.
Howwever, before Aalik could have reached out for Esben, Gudmand quickly bandaged and pressured Aalik's leg wound, earning a look of resentful disapproval from the boy. It did not last for long however, for Aalik's sadness soon overcame his anger.
Gudmand, nodding solemnly, stood up and picked up Inigo's sword, before ripping off its sheath off Flemming's belt and cleaning the blood off its blade with his own cloak. "I'll watch over commander Esben, but you must leave now, for time grows thin," Gudmand said, sheathing back Inigo's sword as he walked up to Aalik. "Use this for support, were your leg to fail. Give it to its rightful owner when you find him. I trust he still lives, his will is not to be underestimated."
Without a word, Aalik took the sword and made his way to his satchel, swiftly knotting its broken shoulder strap and placing it back over his shoulder. The pulsating presence of the crystal became even louder as soon as he grazed the leather of the bag, but he gave it little thought.
With every step towards the leading path, Aalik's heart panged with guilt and sorrow, but he dared not look back, as he knew it to be a futile effort, which would only pain him further. And so, he soldiered on, following the command of the magical crystal beyond, while the hardships of his journey weighed ever more on his shoulders.
Gudmand stared into the abyss as Aalik disappeared in one of its countless tunnels. After a moment of total silence, a look of remorse cracked his steely visage. He frowned, closed his eyes and tightly gripped the hilt of his blade, only for Esben's dying whispers to stop him as he did.
"…Gudmand…"
Wasting no movement, Gudmand let go of his sword and knelt right besides Esben, nodding at his former commander with a sense of respect and wistfulness. Surprise showed in Gudmand's eyes as Esben suddenly grabbed the neck opening of his armor and pulled him with ease, all the while wearing an intimidating scowl, one Gudmand knew full well, earning a fleeting wave of nostalgia from the man.
"Listen to me Gudmand and you listen good," Esben whispered threateningly. Gudmand nodded deeply.
"You will not let anything happen to him," Esben commanded, raising his voice as if death's door was not but a step away. "You understand me!"
"Yes," Gudmand responded with undying reverence.
Esben loosened his grip for the last time, and stared blankly into the crystal-covered roof above, as he took in his final breaths.
"It was an honor serving you…Commander," Gudmand said, his almost imperceptible, uneven tone betraying his waning stoicism.
Esben smiled and shook his head. "No…thank you."