Chapter 12

The last floor of the catacombs had been somewhat easier to complete with the mana shield. Still they had spent the better half of the week killing the increasing number of demons. Now the five warriors moved down the spiral stairs. Around half way down, the stairs straightened out and they found themselves walking down cave like steps. The walls were a light grey, with rotting wooden pillars holding up the sides. It was apparent that the caves had once been a mining site, perhaps for gold or silver. They walked out of the stairs and were instantly hit with a wave of heat.

"It is hot down here," Lothar said moving into the large cave. Pointed structures protruded down from the ceiling, touching the ground at some points. They heard the dripping of water echo throughout the cave. To their right there was a brighter area. To their left was a gate that led to another room. In front of them was darkness. The group headed to where the light was. As they got close, they found the reason the caves were hot. There was a very large river of lava in front of them. It was orange-red and steam rose from it. Adrianna swiped the sweat off her forehead.

"Wow, it is very hot and that's why" she said pointing to the river. This was strange for the mountains were a fair distance away and there were no volcanoes in the area. Across the lava river came a ball of yellow stuff and it hit Daniel in the leg.

"Argghh" he cried out. The group looked across the river to see a beast running around. It was skin and bone and it was the source of the large ball. Adrianna took her bow and shot a lightning arrow at the beast. The beast lurched at the impact and responded by shooting at her. The ball hit the ground in front of her. The ground was eaten away, leaving a big space in the floor.

"It's acid. It's an acid beast!" she cried out sending a cascade of arrows towards the beast. They hit him and he fell, his insides bubbling outside his body. His blood was a bright, sickly yellow and probably acidic as well. She warned her friends not to step on the blood. Adrianna turned to Daniel who was looking at his leg. The acid had begun to eat away at his armour and had burned his leg. Adrianna reached in her bag and pulled out a healing potion. She tossed it to Daniel who drank it. The burned parts of his skin that had been affected by the beast disappeared quickly. She took out her repairing rune and spoke the rune word. It lit up and gently repaired Daniel's armour. She saw a wave of lightning shoot across at them, towards her. She ducked out of the way as it flew by her.

Lothar, and Jayalm shot fire and wind at the beast across the river. The beasts on the other side were called Acid Beasts and Red Storms as the red storms announced who they were and how they were going to kill the warriors. The acid beasts were grey with pieces of fur scattered around their bodies. There were patches of skin that showed through. The Red Storms were also as large as the Butcher and had long claws on their hands. Their scaly skin was a bright red and bulged with strong muscle. They shot lightning at the stunned warriors who fought back just as strong, but still had to duck bolts. They fought their way through the first floor of the cave but it took a long time, as these demons were the hardest they had ever faced. They braked often to rest up and heal. They were battered by acid and lightning. It was a hard gruelling battle. They found a patch of mushrooms at one point and couldn't figure out what it was for. They didn't have time to wonder because they were attacked by more demons. Jayalm picked up a black, worn book with pale green fungus covering it.

"Maybe Alyssia can identify this for us" he said putting it in his bag. The warriors found stairs leading up. They walked up the stairs and found themselves outside of the cave. The town was across an old bridge that seemed to be in need of repair. The group crossed one at a time for fear that it would fall if they went on at the same time. Once across the group walked to town. Derek took Daniel's armour and went to his shop. Daniel followed him. Adrianna followed Jayalm to Alyssia's hut across the river, while Lothar went to Lithious' to pick up more potions.

"Ah yes, this looks like an interesting spell that I will try out. I need a big black mushroom. I believe it grows in the caves where there is low light and lots of ground water. Go get it for me; I need it for a concoction that I am working on. Adrianna and Jayalm figured that since the first floor of the caves had been cleaned out they could go get the mushroom.

"Look there it is" Jayalm said running over to the patch of mushrooms. An acid beast lumbered around the wall and spotted Jayalm and shot at him.

"Jayalm, watch out!" Adrianna cried out as she sent a flurry of fire arrows at the beast. Jayalm dodged the acid balls and the beast fell dead. Jayalm reached over grabbed the mushroom.

"That is one big mushroom," Adrianna said walking over to him. The mushroom must have been the size of a keg barrel for ale. The two got out to the town and gave the mushroom to Alyssia who told them that Lithious wanted a demon brain to create an elixir to help the injured people from town.

"What the hell were you two thinking when you went down into the caves without us?" Daniel yelled. "That was very foolish. You could have gotten killed!"

"We figured it would be alright!" Adrianna fought back. The group had reconvened and Jayalm had explained what had happened with Alyssia. Daniel had burst out angry.

"Whoa Daniel cool it" Derek said placing a hand on his shoulder. "They made it out alive. Let's just hope they don't do it again!" Derek looked at the embarrassed Adrianna and Jayalm. Adrianna felt like they were being treated like children.

"I am a full grown woman! I can do what I please!" she yelled angrily. "If I want to go in the caves by myself I will!" she glared at Daniel, who turned away from her. She went over to him and grabbed his arm. "Do not forget the foolish person who went down there before with out his good armour and special weapon".

"It's time you treated me like a real person!" she said. Daniel didn't look at her. She slapped him.

"OWWW!" He growled as he covered his face. "That hurt!"

"Good. You deserved it. I am a person not a child or an animal. I demand to be treated with respect," she explained. "You know what I could have done when you were severely hurt. I could have taken your very life, yet I didn't. I let you live. You owe me for that. Respecting me would be a great way to pay your dept". He pulled his dagger from his belt and put it menacingly to her throat. She didn't flinch. The others just stared frozen in horror of what was going on before them. Adrianna stood defiantly staring coldly into his eyes. She saw they were filled with rage. Was he going to kill her? She did not know. It would be a fitting end to her horror filled life. What she spoke next nearly brought her to tears as it awoke painful memories long buried in the confines of her mind.

"I have fought in many wars since I joined the Rogues. We travelled to far away places and saw the ravages of war, starvation, death, and poverty. I saw innocent children, children orphaned by the war. I saw their tears as we marched through. On the battlefield once I saw a lot of children being herded away through the battle. They were being sacrificed to save a dying city, a city that could no longer feed them. They were herded into the battlefield. I told my force of Rogues to stop, but other groups still attacked and did not realize the innocent blood that was to be shed. In an effort to save them, I ordered my rank of soldiers to help me save them.

We ran through fire, arrows and spears. Sorcerers fought with lightning and poison. We continued to run. We had each decided to give our lives if we had to. Few of us were killed. We reached the children and we punched, kicked and knocked out the men that lead them to death. Some died and we could not save them. There were about twenty little children that day. We saved only six of them. I remember picking up a small little boy, his tear-filled eyes looked up to me in fear for he knew I was the enemy. Some of the sorcerers noticed our plight and withdrew their forces. With the children safely in our hands, we ran from the battlefield dodging fire and projectiles. A fireball landed by my feet and sent me flying. I managed to turn myself so that I would land on my back and save the child from the pain. I landed some feet away. My small force continued running. I did not give up. I ran and we reached the safety of the town. We carried the remaining children in the town. Their parents ran up and plucked them from our arms. We were the enemy, but were not attacked because of whom we held in our arms. The people did not understand. The battle ceased outside. The forces lost heart from the death of innocent children. It was that battle that ended the war. Kill me if you want and you will be blind like all those who took the lives of the innocent that fateful day, spare me and the world will know yet another heroic hero." Daniel lost his will and re-sheathed his sword. He could only bow his head. The others did the same. Derek straightened up and walked to Adrianna. He nodded to her determinedly. Lothar and Jaylam joined, followed by a reluctant Daniel.

"Let's go finish off the caves," Lothar said, changing the subject the best he could. The group headed back down to the caves, Daniel still a little angry and maybe a little depressed but Adrianna could not be sure. They killed a demon and Daniel pulled the brain out of its head. The pink bubbly brain was in Daniel's hands blood dripping from it.

"Ewww!" Adrianna said turning away from the gruesome sight. She felt sick to her stomach and opened a portal to the town. The sooner they got rid of the brain the better.

"Ewwwww! It's Lithious that wanted that disgusting organ for his elixir. Now go!" Alyssia said as she turned away.

"I take it you think that looks gross too. It's written all over your face deary," she said looking at Adrianna.

"Um...yeah... ugh!" Adrianna said gagging at the site of the brain. The warriors headed to where Lithious was waiting for them.

"Oh...you brought the brain. I managed to finish my elixir without it but it will do for study. Please take this elixir to Alyssia", Lithious said handing the beige elixir to Adrianna. As she was heading for Alyssia's she thought about her friends, who had stayed in town to repair their equipment. Yes they seemed to be good friends, all except Daniel but it seemed like her relationship with Derek was somewhat different. She felt in a way she had never felt. She remembered her lonely life in the Rogue Monastery and then the bloody wars, and wondered if she had done the right thing in leaving Tridosios. She had hurt her family, friends and had wounded a man's pride. Her quilt was strong. She looked around her at the dying trees. It was late winter though it neither felt nor looked it. She had arrived in late August. She couldn't believe that they had spent months in the labyrinth. She hoped they would be through with it soon. She arrived at Alyssia's shack. Alyssia had finished her concoction without it. She told Adrianna to keep it. She beckoned to her and turned.

"I sense great doubt within you. You fear that you have made the wrong decision about your life. I myself, had to make a choice similar to that. I was taken to an ancient sisterhood when I was seven. I learned their magic and then when I grew up, I made a tough decision to leave them. I did and I, like you travelled the world. Do not doubt yourself, this was your destined path". Adrianna nodded and went back to Lithious who said the elixir would make them all stronger. He made duplicates for all of them. They all drank it. It tasted horrible, but Adrianna was used to drinking bad tasting potions. Alyssia seemed somewhat familiar but she could not place the face. A loud screeching noise came from the direction of the cave, disrupting her train of thought. The warriors looked back to the cave that they would be entering again...