Part 23
Tourk was the first to step onto the bridge with Dylan only a split second behind him. Taking a moment to look at the bridges Dylan realized that this was the only one that went completely across the gaping hole. All of the others were offshoots of this central bridge. Looking down, he got his first look into the deep abyss. He could see a faint swirling red mist deep in the bowels of the earth. As he continued to look into the mist, he could have sworn he saw a human image in the mist that began to rise up towards him. Blinking quickly he looked again, only to see nothing but shapeless mist. Looking up at Tourk once more, he nodded to the self proclaimed God.
"Let's bring it." He muttered before stepping forward.
Tyr was surprised with the ease in which he managed to escape the palace. The corridors were empty except for the occasional lone guard. He made his way down the hallways looking for any sign as to where Dylan and Beka may be kept.
The Palorians scattered quickly as the weapons fire destroyed parts of the forest directly behind them. Their companions, in the frantic race to escape the destruction, overran several of them. They quickly took refuge deeper in the surrounding woods but none of them left the immediate area.
"They do not seem to be leaving." Rommie stated. "We have no choice but to be more direct in getting them out of the way." She looked toward Trance as she said this, hoping the young woman would not try to stop her from doing what she must to get help to the others.
"I guess you are right, we have no other options." Trance replied sadly.
"Harper prepare to fire weapons again on my mark." Rommie said. "Aim for the Palorians."
"Aiming and preparing to fire." Harper replied.
"Now." Rommie said.
Harper pushed the firing mechanism but nothing happened. He was reaching for it again when sparks erupted from the console and the panel exploded. Harper jumped back falling on his backside.
"Well I did say the repairs weren't exactly up to specs." Harper said coughing and waving his hand in front of his face to clear away some of the smoke.
"So where does that leave us now?" Trance asked.
"We have to get to the pods. I will simply do what I should have done in the beginning and try to make it through myself." Rommie said.
"Rommie there are over thirty men out there and we only have two forcelances. There is no way even two of us armed could make it with those odds." Trance said. "Harper any chances of getting the weapons back online?"
"Yeah, but not in this century or at least not without some new parts." He replied glumly.
"We should have taken advantage of the weapons when we had the chance and destroyed them." Rommie said with a hint of anger in her voice.
"No, we shouldn't have because then we would be no better than they are." Trance replied. Seeing that Rommie was about to protest she added, "And don't you dare try to give me that 'I am a warship' speech because I quit buying it a long time ago."
"So any other ideas?" Harper asked looking from one woman to the next.
After an hour of searching, Tyr had come to the conclusion that his crewmates were no longer in the palace. Careful to avoid detection he made his way out into the grounds and through the gardens where yesterday's fight had taken place. He made his way to the wall at the back of the gardens and quickly scaled its heights. Dropping gracefully to the other side, he paused trying to determine what his next move should be. He realized the others must have been taken to another location where the challenge would be held but he had no idea where to look. Perhaps they were on the other side of the woods or maybe even in the village. He gauged his position and determined he was within a half hours walk of the pod he and Dylan had landed in the day before. Deciding he would not find them himself, at least not in time to be any help, Tyr headed for the pod.
Dylan grabbed the railing of the bridge just in time to save himself from being thrown off the bridge. A large guard stood only a foot from the edge of the bridge with his sword raised, ready to end the challenge should Dylan take another step backwards. Righting himself quickly, Dylan charged back toward Tourk knocking the other man onto his back. Tourk managed to bring his legs up and push Dylan off, quickly getting to his own feet once more. Both men paused a moment to collect their breath. They had been fighting for an hour and neither had really gained an upper hand on the other. They were both in top physical form and their fighting skills were very evenly matched.
Dylan risked another quick glance over the side of bridge. He noticed that the mist was growing closer the longer they fought. It now filled more than half of the pit. He had seen the ghostly face more than once when he looked into the mist. He no longer doubted Tourk's claim that the mist within the pit was a sentient being. Something down there was alive and it wanted him.
Seeing where Dylan's attention was, Tourk also looked into the pit. He noticed how much closer the mist was. While he did not let it show outwardly, the mist frightened Tourk as nothing else did. He knew if it claimed him, he would pay dearly for releasing the power and claiming it as his own.
"The lady grows ever more anxious for us Hunt." He called out. "Her hunger must be appeased soon."
"Well since a gentleman should never keep a lady waiting, why don't you just jump right in and save me the trouble of putting you there." Dylan asked.
"Funny, I was going to suggest the same thing for you." Tourk replied.
"I guess neither of us are much of a gentleman then." Dylan answered.
Both men began to move toward one another to continue the battle that had began at sunrise.
Tourk was the first to step onto the bridge with Dylan only a split second behind him. Taking a moment to look at the bridges Dylan realized that this was the only one that went completely across the gaping hole. All of the others were offshoots of this central bridge. Looking down, he got his first look into the deep abyss. He could see a faint swirling red mist deep in the bowels of the earth. As he continued to look into the mist, he could have sworn he saw a human image in the mist that began to rise up towards him. Blinking quickly he looked again, only to see nothing but shapeless mist. Looking up at Tourk once more, he nodded to the self proclaimed God.
"Let's bring it." He muttered before stepping forward.
Tyr was surprised with the ease in which he managed to escape the palace. The corridors were empty except for the occasional lone guard. He made his way down the hallways looking for any sign as to where Dylan and Beka may be kept.
The Palorians scattered quickly as the weapons fire destroyed parts of the forest directly behind them. Their companions, in the frantic race to escape the destruction, overran several of them. They quickly took refuge deeper in the surrounding woods but none of them left the immediate area.
"They do not seem to be leaving." Rommie stated. "We have no choice but to be more direct in getting them out of the way." She looked toward Trance as she said this, hoping the young woman would not try to stop her from doing what she must to get help to the others.
"I guess you are right, we have no other options." Trance replied sadly.
"Harper prepare to fire weapons again on my mark." Rommie said. "Aim for the Palorians."
"Aiming and preparing to fire." Harper replied.
"Now." Rommie said.
Harper pushed the firing mechanism but nothing happened. He was reaching for it again when sparks erupted from the console and the panel exploded. Harper jumped back falling on his backside.
"Well I did say the repairs weren't exactly up to specs." Harper said coughing and waving his hand in front of his face to clear away some of the smoke.
"So where does that leave us now?" Trance asked.
"We have to get to the pods. I will simply do what I should have done in the beginning and try to make it through myself." Rommie said.
"Rommie there are over thirty men out there and we only have two forcelances. There is no way even two of us armed could make it with those odds." Trance said. "Harper any chances of getting the weapons back online?"
"Yeah, but not in this century or at least not without some new parts." He replied glumly.
"We should have taken advantage of the weapons when we had the chance and destroyed them." Rommie said with a hint of anger in her voice.
"No, we shouldn't have because then we would be no better than they are." Trance replied. Seeing that Rommie was about to protest she added, "And don't you dare try to give me that 'I am a warship' speech because I quit buying it a long time ago."
"So any other ideas?" Harper asked looking from one woman to the next.
After an hour of searching, Tyr had come to the conclusion that his crewmates were no longer in the palace. Careful to avoid detection he made his way out into the grounds and through the gardens where yesterday's fight had taken place. He made his way to the wall at the back of the gardens and quickly scaled its heights. Dropping gracefully to the other side, he paused trying to determine what his next move should be. He realized the others must have been taken to another location where the challenge would be held but he had no idea where to look. Perhaps they were on the other side of the woods or maybe even in the village. He gauged his position and determined he was within a half hours walk of the pod he and Dylan had landed in the day before. Deciding he would not find them himself, at least not in time to be any help, Tyr headed for the pod.
Dylan grabbed the railing of the bridge just in time to save himself from being thrown off the bridge. A large guard stood only a foot from the edge of the bridge with his sword raised, ready to end the challenge should Dylan take another step backwards. Righting himself quickly, Dylan charged back toward Tourk knocking the other man onto his back. Tourk managed to bring his legs up and push Dylan off, quickly getting to his own feet once more. Both men paused a moment to collect their breath. They had been fighting for an hour and neither had really gained an upper hand on the other. They were both in top physical form and their fighting skills were very evenly matched.
Dylan risked another quick glance over the side of bridge. He noticed that the mist was growing closer the longer they fought. It now filled more than half of the pit. He had seen the ghostly face more than once when he looked into the mist. He no longer doubted Tourk's claim that the mist within the pit was a sentient being. Something down there was alive and it wanted him.
Seeing where Dylan's attention was, Tourk also looked into the pit. He noticed how much closer the mist was. While he did not let it show outwardly, the mist frightened Tourk as nothing else did. He knew if it claimed him, he would pay dearly for releasing the power and claiming it as his own.
"The lady grows ever more anxious for us Hunt." He called out. "Her hunger must be appeased soon."
"Well since a gentleman should never keep a lady waiting, why don't you just jump right in and save me the trouble of putting you there." Dylan asked.
"Funny, I was going to suggest the same thing for you." Tourk replied.
"I guess neither of us are much of a gentleman then." Dylan answered.
Both men began to move toward one another to continue the battle that had began at sunrise.