Author's Note: Just as a slight warning, this chapters makes a small reference to my up-coming short story "Elfsong of Eternia." Enjoy!
Chapter Five
"The Mines of Alluray"
Teela walked into her quarters, and her eyes immediately fell upon the trunk at the end of her bed. She pulled out of a set of keys, unlocked it, threw it open and took a deep breath at the sight within. Wrapped in a white sheet was the Sword of the Ancients, the blade that was forged by the Ancients during the First Age. There were a number of fakes that had come over the years, including two that He-Man and Teela had though were real.
But this, as she held it in her arms, was the real thing.
She swung it around, her sword skills quite good. Not as good as she was with a staff, but still good enough to be considered a little more than an expert. Better than Adam was, anyways. Teela's mind reeled back to when they found this sword together and the kisses and words they shared right before hand.
Secretly, Teela wished that she and He-Man or she and Adam were going on this mission alone. There were a lot of unresolved feelings between the three of them. She wasn't sure how either Adam or He-Man had been acting towards each other since the news of emotional confusion got out, but she guessed it wasn't good.
It didn't really matter.
It was funny, because she had so rarely seen them together. Teela had a hard time remembering any exact moment, but oh well . . .
Teela was hoping for Adam alone so that they would have a chance to mend their shattered friendship. Their bonds, their former closeness that they had grown up with was pretty much gone when she told him that she didn't love him. With He-Man, she deluded herself into thinking that maybe he would come around and look for a loving a relationship with her.
Neither would happen, of course, knowing that they would joined with Mekaneck, Ram-Man, Snout Spout, Roboto and her father.
"Stifle those thoughts, Teela, put them away," she told herself aloud. Teela put a few essentials into her pack, put the Sword of the Ancients in a safe holster, picked up her staff and left her quarters.
Shortly, she joined the others in the launch room, where Malik stood with He-Man, the pair exchanging a few words with King Randor.
"Where's Adam?" she asked.
"He, Cringer, and Orko are going to be doing some scouting while we're away," Man-At-Arms replied. "I thought it best to keep an eye on Snake Mountain since all this is happening."
The large bay door suddenly opened. It was time. Malik and Kareen would be joining them on their way to Alluray. Alluray was the ruins of the great Dwarf city long abandoned during the Second Age when the Dwarves mysteriously vanished. Alluray was settled between high-rising mountain edge of the Ice Mountains and the Mystic Mountains.
The Dwarves had dung the farthest into Eternia, and many, many legends believed that they had actually reached the heart of the planet. Whatever the case, it seemed the best and most secure route.
"Good journey," King Randor wished as the two Talon Fighters filled with Heroic Warriors. "And good luck."
He-Man nodded. "Thanks. We'll need it."
The Talon Fighters launched from the bay and into the stormy sky. Immediately, they were pummeled with rain and wind. It would be a long flight, so everyone figured it would be good to stir up some conversation. While Teela, Ram-Man, Mekaneck, and Snout Spout chatted about how strange Earth had seemed (after two visits in the past year), He-Man was curious about Alluray.
"Malik," He-Man addressed, "I suppose I'm not up on Eternian legends as I thought I was. What ever happened to Dwarves?"
"Nobody knows, He-Man. It is said that the Elves may know, but the Elves are about as secretive as anyone can get. The Dwarves were well-known for supplying much of Eternia with gold, silvers, and many other minerals. Alluray is located in one the finest mineral deposits. All of their digging brought them much wealth. I have even heard rumor that they grew TOO wealthy and were slaughtered in a great war."
"The same was said about the Elves," Man-At-Arms noted. "But we all know what really happened to them."
"Rumors of slaughter are hard to believe. Entire races are hard to make extinct. No, I believe they left Eternia somehow."
He-Man perked an eyebrow as a flash of lightning struck before the Talon Fighter. "How so?"
"They reached the core of Eternia, He-Man. Do you know how much that is? How many rocks and minerals?" questioned Malik.
"A lot, I imagine. And they probably got bored of it," He-Man answered.
"Yes. Perhaps, then, they realized they should leave Eternia. They may have opened a portal to another dimension or another planet and left. That is what I believe."
He-Man nodded. It was then that Man-At-Arms began to set the Talon Fighter down. They had arrived.
As the rain poured down upon them, the Heroic Warriors exited and loaded up their gear onto their backs. They had landed in the center of the abandoned city of Alluray. Ruins of buildings and structures were all around them, the grass high in the mid-spring month. Moss and mold had grown high onto the ruins, and the air was very sad. It seemed like these were to be abandoned forever.
"According the texts I made myself familiar with," Kareen began, "this was the city center. The marketplaces are to the east and west so that means the mine entrance is to the north. This way."
The group followed Kareen down what was once a road. The once obviously paved road was now covered in grass, the rocks overgrown and broken after years of weather and no care. They followed the road for about half an hour until the ruins seemed to be more and more in decay. The mountains that stood to the north of the city grew closer and closer and after another hour, they had arrived at them.
Kareen glanced at a map that she had kept in her pouch and through the drenching rain, sought the tunnel that would lead them to Procrustus.
"Many of these mines intersect with each other, but your best bet would be . . . here."
She pointed to a mine entrance nearly ten miles away at the base of one of the taller mountains. There were many passes between mountains, so it wasn't hard to get from one of the other. There were ruins along the passes, signifying that many of the miners didn't bother to come home, they just remained by the mines.
"We have arrived," Kareen announced.
Before them was a large set of stairs that led to a huge entrance into the mine. "This will be the mine that will take down into heart of Eternia," Malik followed-up. He handed them a map. "This map will be your guide. You must hurry. I believe that Procrustus only has another three to four days before the Spirit of Evil overcomes him."
"Good journey," wished Kareen.
"Thank you," Man-At-Arms replied. "Good journey."
The same was exchanged all around, and then the Heroic Warriors left Malik and Kareen. Up the large stairs they. The stairs were obviously built by Dwarves and required those of shorter stature to master them. But the Heroic Warriors were up to it.
Once at the top of the stairs, the entrance to the mine was laid out before them. There were decaying and broken statues around the entrance, but they paid little heed to them. He-Man lead Man-At-Arms, Teela, Snout Spout, Ram-Man, Mekaneck, and Roboto inside and finally out of the rain.
There wasn't much to the first room of the mine except for three doors. A swing of the flashlight revealed that both chambers beyond the doors to the left and the right were both caved in. The center door was clear. Luckily, it was the one they wanted. As they came to the door, Man-At-Arms pulled out a small capsule from his belt. There was a set a stairs before them that lead down under the mountain.
He pressed a small button on the end of the capsule and it suddenly floated about a foot up from the ground. It lit up, shining light upon the stairs as it floated it ahead. It would guide their way.
"I'll go first," He-Man volunteered.
The capsule, which was some ten to fifteen feet in front of them, stopped as He-Man began to walk through. It would maintain this distance unless Man-At-Arms said different. He-Man put his first foot onto the first step and moved forward. It wasn't small, like that of the Dwarf stairs outside. These were a good portion larger and allowed for more comfort.
As the others followed He-Man, it was soon discovered that stairs were in open air, no walls around it for many meters. Roboto conducted scans, but couldn't be more thorough. It seemed that what Kareen had said was correct. Many of the tunnels intersected and this seemed to be the hub. There were stone bridges and stairs and doors all around them in the darkness.
A musty smell filled their noses, and a sudden reminder of just how old this place was came across their minds. No one spoke except for the occasional warning for broken steps. For some reason, it just felt appropriate to not say anything right now. Echoes of their voices reverberated off the walls, as did the sound of a stone falling into the abyss below.
The capsule - the flare - showed their way, guiding them forward from step to step, and the occasional landing. On these landings were what looking like the remains of gantries and pulleys. Every now and then they would comes across dusty buckets, discarded chains and the very occasional axe, pick or shovel.
After five hours of walking down these stairs, they reached a large door. The capsule-flare lit the way inside and quickly displayed a gigantic room, filled with many numbers of other doors. Old tables and tablets were laid out across the room, discarded and covered in dust. Large boulders and rocks lay fallen among tools and carts.
The entire chamber was lifeless and it felt sort of sad as the Heroic Warriors carefully walked through it. Man-At-Arms pointed to a door towards the back of the round chamber and they all marched towards it. The chamber was huge, and it took them nearly an hour to get from the entrance to their desired door.
The door served as an entrance to a very long and winding corridor that would go on for some time. According to the map, it would intersect with a few other corridors, but it was important to remain on this one. The capsule continued to light the way down, making them aware of fallen rocks within the corridor.
At one point, Ram-Man took the time to stop and pick one up. "We're getting pretty low," he stated. "But not too low."
It was well known that though Ram-Man wasn't he smartest guy out there, he was still knowledgeable when it came to rocks and stones.
"You know, my Mama always told me there was either Dwarf blood or Rock-People blood in me," Ram-Man told them, passing the time.
"I'd say Dwarf, just because you're so damn short," Mekaneck joked.
"Hey!" Ram-Man grumbled loudly.
The rest of the group chuckled and continued on. They passed many corridors on their way down. Every now and then, they would hear a slight noise, like a ticker or a shuffle. But whatever it was, Roboto's sensors were not picking anything up. Granted, his sensors weren't the best down here, but still.
They heard a sudden howl then, and a screech that sent shivers up their spines. They had neared the intersection with another corridor. And coming down that corridor was a number of six-legged, brown, insect-like creatures that were nearly the size of a canine.
"Borebugs!" shouted He-Man, pulling out his sword.
The nearly-blind creatures scurried towards them, screeching and howling and looking for food. Luckily, though, the Heroic Warriors were ready for this. As He-Man, Teela, Ram-Man, Snout Spout, and Mekaneck held them off, Man-At-Arms was busy with a control panel on his wrist. Suddenly, light flowed certain sections of his armor. Roboto's hands, face, legs, and chest all glowed intensely.
Though just about blind, the Borebugs were extremely sensitive to light and hated it. The group ran forward, the light from Man-At-Arms and Roboto keeping the deadly creatures at bay.
It wasn't long until they reached another large chamber, this one smaller than the last but still the same design. It had no tables and tablets, but had more tools. And the entire chamber was crawling with Borebugs. They screeched and scurried, and howled as the light invaded their darkness.
Carefully but quickly, the Heroic Warriors approached their next door. In it was another set of stairs, but these were within a tunnel. "We're going to have block this door," Teela said.
"She's right. If we don't, the Borebugs will come right after us. And you two can't light us like that the entire way."
Man-At-Arms nodded and turned to Ram-Man. "Can you collapse the entrance without collapsing the entire stairwell?"
Ram-Man paused and ran his hands across the rocky walls. "Hmmm. I think so. I hope so." Ram-Man backed up a bit, then leapt up and smashed his head against the ceiling. Large boulders and rocks tumbled and collapsed down over the stairwell entrance.
Man-At-Arms pulled out a small cylinder. He pressed a button on it and the cylinder produce a staff on its end. Man-At-Arms placed it in the ground and the cylinder lit up with brillant light the filled the stairwell.
"This should keep them from tunneling through. Borebugs usually won't go much farther down than this," Man-At-Arms explained. We should keep going.
Mekaneck looked at the collapsed and sealed door behind them. "I don't think we have much of a choice."
***
Locus walked into the meeting room of Snake Mountain and shook his head as he neared King Hiss and Skeletor.
"A contingent of Heroic Warriors lead by He-Man have made for the core of Eternia."
"Impossible!" spat Skeletor. "There is no way into the core of Eternia!"
"They are journeying through the Dwarf Mines of Alluray," Locus replied.
King Hiss nodded and turned fully to Skeletor. "It seems we have a problem then. Alluray contains several mines that go deep, including one that supposed goes into the heart of the world. Even if it doesn't take them the entire way, it would not be difficult to complete that journey."
"My master still needs four days."
Skeletor groaned. "It's time to call in some favors . . ."