Disclaimer: I don't own the Deltora Quest I'm just a really big fan!!
Author's note: I got the computer off my sis, so I'll get writing before she gets back and demands some time – not that she hasn't had enough already!! Please review!!
The Underground of Hope
- Black Fury
4 – The Plumes, the Aurons and the Keras
Lief's head was pounding, begging for air, begging to breath. His lungs were about to burst, but his arms too weak to break from the comfortably ball he had curled into. The fast gush of the water surrounded him, filling in his ears and nose; He dared not open his eyes.
A sudden feeling came over him. He felt like relaxing every bone in his body, loosen his grip and just float, beneath the surface. His hands slid off his legs and he began to lose the circle shape of his ball. The water caught him awkwardly, slowly him down and pushing him towards the bottom.
His head was spinning.
Air! Swim up! Let me breath!
Vaguely Lief twitched his hand.
Air, yes. Breath. Must breath, He thought dimly. Swim up…
But which way was up?
Lief moved his arms, trying to swim in some direction but the currant was too strong. He was being drifted along, pushed further and further downwards. If he was to hit anything-he didn't want to think about it.
The golden water pushed, sending him in a gentle spin as the currant hit him from other angles.
All this to just ask permission, Lief thought. A sudden peaceful feeling swept over him, the smooth flow of the water calming him. So this was what it was like to drown, slowly and peacefully, drifting to the bottom of the water.
It wasn't that bad, Lief considered. He had time to think and remember his loved ones. Barda, Sharn, Marilen, Jasmine... He could see there faces clearly in his mind, see their smiles and hear their voices. In a way he had already said good bye…
Suddenly something struck him by the waist and he was sent into darkness…
A face loomed over Jasmine as she became vaguely aware of where she was. She was on the ground and the strong scent of ink filled her nostrils, the library. But what had happened?
'Jasmine? Jasmine? Jasmine can you hear me? Please say something!'
Where was that voice coming from? She groaned, staring at the face directly in her line of vision. It was moving, speaking; Who was it? The face steadily came into focus.
Lief! It was Lief, Lief was looking down at her! But as soon as she had spoken it she knew it was not so. The face became clearer, it was Drahen.
'What happened?' She groaned pushing herself to get up.
'You tell me! One minute you were sitting reading, the next minute you were screaming and passing out on me!' Drahen looked concerned.
Jasmine stood up and looked way from him and at the belt. I remember, She thought.
'Dragons…' She whispered.
Drahen raised an eyebrow.
'Dragons?' He repeated, interestedly.
'I touched the gems and they showed my dragons…' Her eyes narrowed.
Did this mean that she was going to be attacked by a dragon? Was the opal showing the future? It was meant to, but then the other gems were not and they had shown her dragons too. What was happening?
'Strange,' Drahen frowned and moved his hand onto the diamond.
Jasmine watched his expression carefully, but it showed no sign of seeing what she had.
'I see no dragon.' He sighed removing his hand.
'Try the opal then.' Jasmine frowned.
A smile curved onto Drahen's face.
'I have no wish to see what the future holds for me,' He cringed suddenly then continued, 'So I shall take your word on it instead.'
Jasmine stood there, frozen. Had she imagined them? If so, why? If not, how come she could see them and Drahen couldn't? Or was he lying? Her thoughts were interrupted as Drahen forced a book into her hand.
She looked down had it and read the title:
Precious Gems and where to find them
'I thank you for finding this book, but in light of these recent happenings, my topic has changed.' Jasmine placed the book on the table.
'So you wish to read up on dragons then?' Drahen smiled knowingly.
Jasmine nodded and sat down again. Not only dragons Drahen, she thought.
'I just put a very good dragon book up on the shelves yesterday. I shall find it for you,' Drahen answered, 'But you must know that dragons have been extinct ever since the Shadow Lord first rose.'
Drahen wandered off again and Jasmine smiled.
Not as extinct as you might think, she thought. Remembering the golden dragon she had seen with Glock, little than a year ago.
She pulled the volume one of the Deltora's Annals towards her and flipped it open, the blue dragon's words sailing in her mind.
Take the amulet and run!
Amulet. What amulet? The words had a hidden meaning, she just knew it. All she had to do was discover it; maybe it would lead into something greater…
'Lief? Wake up! Say something!'
Lief felt himself being shook slightly.
'I'm...fine.' He muttered dopily. Lief opened his eyes and saw that he was no longer in the water but on a boat. A rather battered boat, but a boat none the less.
'How…?' Lief began, but fell into a fit of coughs before he could continue.
'I found this floating around along with some torn fishing nets and pieces of wood. I saw you drift pass and pulled you on. I told you not to break out of your ball! You could have drowned Lief! What were you thinking?!' Barda growled.
'I just sort of lost the ability to move…and I just floated out of shape.' Lief muttered, rubbing his head.
Barda looked at him for a moment then turned to look out at the water.
'Something is wrong,' Barda began, 'Firstly there is a currant, which wasn't here before and secondly this boat is damaged and must have been abandoned. The Plumes have been fishing for years here and they have never been attacked by a large fish so I doubt it that.'
Lief nodded, realizing the truth to his words.
'Maybe the boat hit some rocks and they jumped out and swam back to their land.' Lief sighed.
Barda continued to stare out at the water for a while before answering.
'I hope you are right, but I think it unlikely,' Barda sighed, 'We will find out in a minute or two. I can see the Plume island from here.'
Lief looked up, dimly aware that the water was no longer its golden gleam but a blood red, to where Barda had gestured and saw the red island ahead. It did look different somehow, but then, he hadn't seen it clearly from a distance before. The last time he had come he'd been lying at the bottom of the boat, soon to be used to feed The Fear.
The brown and red fungus trees seemed shorter and rather battered. Some looked as thought they were leaning or been burnt.
With a bump the boat drew along side the islands shore. Lief and Barda staggered out of the boat, eyes fixed upon what they saw before them.
Shocked, Lief looked around him, trying to take in what he was seeing. The fungus trees had been burnt and crumbled, as thought something large had jumped on them. The flat plains where covered by water and the village appeared to have suffered a gory attack.
Lief turned to see Barda reaction and realized he was thinking the same thing; who had done this?
'This attack wasn't done by one person,' Barda growled pointing to some tracks on the fungus trees and muddy ground, 'A small group perhaps and this-' Barda showed Lief two pairs of tracks that looked different to the others, 'This is no human foot print.'
Lief bent down to it and looked at it carefully.
'Looks like a dog's print, maybe a wolf's,' He sighed, 'but how would a wolf get down here? Wolves don't even live in the forest!'
'That track is too large to be a wolf and the claws are too long,' Barda said, gruffly, 'Yet I'd say you're right about to dog bit, it does look like some type of dog's print.'
Lief straightened up and turned towards the village.
'Perhaps we can ask the villages…' he began, half heartily thinking that they may not be any villages left to see.
The same thought went thought Barda head and he said nothing but nodded. Together they approached the village, cautiously. Whatever attacked might still be around and ready to send them into the same fate as the trees and houses.
The water was three inches deep and not helping to keep their movements quiet and secretive. If there was a creature waiting to pounce, it would have been able to pin point exactly where they were.
Lief stopped and he looked up at the small buildings. Most had been destroyed or badly shattered. Some even appeared to have been set alight, but no flames existed, they had the water to thank for that.
'What could have happened here?' Lief muttered at the destruction.
'Perhaps we spread out and find some of the Plumes…there maybe some here.' Barda murmured.
Lief nodded and the search began.
They searched the whole village between the two of them and found nothing. No sighs of life, no clues, no creatures-nothing. With an irritated sigh Lief returned back to their agreed meeting spot and met up with Barda again.
'I think we should continue to Auron. They may know something and I did see an intact boat down there that we could use.' Barda pointed to the other side of the village.
'You don't think the Aurons did this do you?' muttered Lief.
'I don't know what did this, everyone are suspects at the moment.' Barda sighed pointedly and the convocation was closed.
Apart from some wood chips at the rim of the boat it was in fine working order, but there was only one paddle fit to be used in the water.
Barda managed to find some wood off another boat that would work and the problem was solved.
'At least we know which island to land on this time.' Lief smiled, as he and Barda got into the boat.
'The Aurons chose to stay on the rafts remember? We will be boarding no island,' Barda said gruffly, 'I do not wish to be cocooned in a slug's cone again.'
Lief and Barda stood on the rafts of the new Auron. It had suffered the same fate as the Plumes. It appeared completely deserted and destroyed. The mud brick dwellings were cracked and the roofs had been caved in.
'It is unlikely that the Aurons would attack the Plumes, as they themselves have been attacked.' Muttered Lief.
'Unless they thought that it was the Plumes who attacked them and they went to get revenge,' Barda exclaimed, 'or maybe it was the Keras.'
'Why must you-'But Lief never finished for there before them stood a large, hunched over figure, in a black cloak.
It had a hood up over its head but Lief could see a long snout protruding out of the folds. It was a ghastly yellow furred nose that was indeed dog-like and as it took a step forward Lief noticed a furry blood red leg with a paw and six inch long jet black claws. It was a dog and yet at the same time it wasn't.
'A Fritz hound.' Lief heard Barda whisper and he turned and saw Barda had gone deathly pale, 'At least we now know what made the prints.'
'A what?' Lief asked, nervously.
'A Fritz hound,' Barda repeated, 'The deadly dogs that the Shadow Lord owns. They are worse than Vraals and Ols; they exist only from pure evil. To hear one howl is said to kill you. But there are eight of the brutes and where there is one the others are near.'
Lief felt a chill ran down his spine. He turned his head nervously to see if they had been surrounded. Thankfully they had not.
Suddenly the Fritz hound raise its head and the hood slid back and its face could be seen. What Lief saw he could have never prepared himself for.
The creatures face was covered in fur, the same horrid colour as its snout. The fur was long and it spiked away from the face. Its ears were long and pointed- tuffs of hair coming from the edges. The eyes were a blood shot red with no pupils, just glowing endless pits of blood red. Its snout was covered in black stripes but otherwise yellow. But its teeth were as long as its claws, but thick and sharp and ghostly blue. From his mouth came lime green goo which Lief presumed was drool.
It stared at them long and hard and Lief felt completely stuck to the spot. He knew the creature was surveying him and Barda. He appeared to have heard the convocation and was holding his head proudly.
If only we had been quiet! Lief thought, then maybe it wouldn't have found us.
Suddenly the creatures glaze fixed upon Lief's eyes. A cold sensation filling Lief's body. Lief couldn't blink, he couldn't move. Every muscle in his body tightened.
* A king! You are a king…a king from where?*
Where had that come from? Had Barda heard it? He couldn't move to see but the voice returned again.
*Topaz? Belt? Annals? Jasmine? Barda? These are useless thoughts! Where are you from!*
The creature was reading his thoughts, trying to find out who he was. He couldn't allow this! He had to think of something else.
* Drahen? Your name is Drahen? You lie! I know you lie! You are a king!*
That had been the first name to enter his head, but how had he known that he was lying?
*You have just proved my point Lief of Del!*
Oh no he's found out! Lief thought desperately. I must break out of his stare. I have to! It's the only way!
* I am the only one who can break this fool!*
Well then maybe I can use this against you, Lief inwardly smiled and concentrated.
*Shadow Lord, alive: many plans. Kill little Auron in house. Last of Fritz hounds. Revenge…*
*Blast you Lief of Del! I can not allow this!*
*Then break eye contact!*
Suddenly the hound looked away from Lief, with a growl and he could move again.
'So the Shadow is alive and has been plotting and you are also hiding an Auron in one of these houses!' Lief shouted and Barda gave him a strange look.
'Perhaps,' the hound snorted, talking now, 'and you are the King of Del, thus making you-'It turned its glaze to Barda, '-his guard. Imagine that! Two of my masters most sort after enemies' right before me. Now tell me, where is your little wild haired friend?'
'I don't know how you know all this,' Barda spoke up, 'but we will not tell you of our other companion!'
'I have ways of making you tell me these things!' It snarled and lunged forward at Barda.
Lief quickly drew his sword and struck the creature on the shoulder blade as it landed upon Barda's chest. It quickly jumped of him and lunged at Lief. Lief dodged its first lunge but was hit on the second.
He lay on his back with the hound right on top of him. Its jet black claws dug into his shoulders and his blue teeth and furry yellow mouth stood right above his head, the lime green drool, dropping on his cheek. Lief was pleased, however, when he saw the gash he had inflicted. It ran all the way down his leg and was cut deep. He knew that it was bleeding but he could not tell the blood from the hounds coat; the cloak on the creatures back was torn badly.
'Did you think you could match me, Lief of Del?' It snarled, its horrid breath of decayed bodies and meat breathing down on him, 'A mere sword will not kill, Fiergasher, second of the eight!'
'You maybe second of the eight, Fiergasher, but you are the only hound still left.' Lief choked on the hound's breath.
'And do you know who killed them-Lief of Del?' It snarled and Lief shook his head.
'That little Keras friend of yours, that one that played the pipe. How I enjoyed shredding his body apart!' It laughed.
'So you attacked the Keras as well!?' Lief gasped.
'Not by my self, no, but yes the Keras, the Plumes and all but one of the Aurons have been killed or taken to the Shadow lands – for you see my master didn't…approve of their music and after all they did once live there!' It snapped.
'The Pirran Pipe?' exclaimed Lief.
The creature frowned.
'We were a bit careless in that front. The pipe fell to the depths of the sea and we...chose not to pursue it.'
Lief turned his head to the side, trying to breathe fresh air. So the Pipe was still here, hopefully whole, and the Shadow Lord was back. His plans had already begun. What would have happened if they had not come today?
Lief suddenly saw Barda charging toward them with a large piece of wood.
The creature looked up to see Barda too, but was too slow and was struck in the side. It rolled over Lief and Lief wasted no time getting to his feet.
Fiergasher, staggered back on his feet and Lief realized that that blow had done him more damage to him than the sword. It seemed that the loss of blood did not affect him but a whack that winded him and send him sprawling, hurt him deeply.
He glared at them then without further ado he disappeared into thin air.
'Did he...die?' Lief stammered.
'No, he no doubt returned to his master. I told you he was made of pure evil and evil has no soul, no spirit, and no organs that affect him. So bleeding to death is impossible. He needed to be winded enough to send some of his evil away. Without his inner evil he can't exist.' Barda growled, 'But how did you know about the Shadow Lord?'
'He tried to read my mind and while he did I read his,' Lief sighed, 'That reminds me! He said that one Auron had managed to survive; she or he must be in one of these houses.'
Barda nodded and they headed off toward the mud dwellings that still were partly whole.
'Is that Penn's house?' Lief inquired, pointing to a house which roof had caved in.
'It does look very like it.' Barda muttered.
They went inside and saw that it had been complete trash, except for one corner in which two, large spiders where pressing at the bars and waving there legs.
'Flash and Fury!' Lief exclaimed.
'The Shadow Lord's followers must not have wanted to go near them.' Barda grunted.
'No they didn't and that is why I am alive.' Came a voice from behind the cages. A small head popped up from behind the cages.
It was Penn.
Black Fury: Phew! That took my awhile to write! I am starving! I haven't eaten anything since breakfast and it is now one thirty so I'm going right now to eat sommat. So please review and chapter five will be up in a bit!!