Dragonicora: You know, I wasn't even thinking like that. I just figured Max would be so intent on the destruction of the Ancients he wouldn't care who was sacrificed.
UltraBeing: I kinda think of that as advertising, asking me to read your fics, but oh well. Thanks for the comment.
Chapter 9: The Lurking Horror
1760 A.D. Roivas Family Estate, Rhode Island
"I will not argue that I was shocked by the sudden mention of one of my ancestors: the distinguished Dr. Maximillian Roivas. It chilled me to my bones. Where had this ancient book come from? How had my ancestor stumbled upon it? I feverishly began to read more, eager to learn his story. It seems Maximillian had inherited his father's mansion, just as I had. Alone since the death of his wife, and since his children had their own adult lives, he explored the house to discover his family roots."
Dr. Maximillian Roivas sat at his desk in the estate's study, writing in his journal. Everything was silent, except for the scratching of his quill on the paper of his journal. "It has been two weeks since the death of my father, and it has finally come upon me to look over the mansion," he wrote. "Now, I am truly alone, and forced to start a new life, here in Rhode Island. I intend to make the mansion mine, and live in it as my forefather's have, to continue the family tradition. The mansion has its secrets, I'm sure, and in my time here, I have to make them mine…"
He set his quill down, getting to his feet. Despite all his sleepless nights, he was still compelled to search through the mansion. He picked up a small sack of ammunition for the Flintlock pistol on his belt, then walked out of the study. A quick check of the servants' bathroom gave him another sack of ammo. As he entered the master bedroom, the servant cleaning it bid him good day and continued to work. On the small table near the bed was a letter written by his father. Opening it up, he began to read. It was written in longhand with some precision in longhand.
"Dear Friend,
"The antiquity of which you ask is indeed the Tome of Eternal Darkness, or a copy of it, at least. Its secrets are still hidden from me, for I have been unable to read it, as have most scholars who have tried.
"It will remain within the sanctity of the mansion, for in the wrong hands it would be a powerful weapon.
"Peruse it if you will, but beware its magick… It is a harsh mistress."
Aaron Roivas"
Max folded up the letter, thinking about what he just read. The Tome of Eternal Darkness? I have never heard of such a book. And what did my father mean by magick? There must be a secret he hid in this mansion. He rubbed his short beard thoughtfully while examining a stone tablet atop the fireplace mantle. There were peculiar designs carved on it. Above and below the design were the words "Redgormor" and "Area". Before exiting, he entered the bathroom and picked up more ammo. Finding nothing else of interest upstairs, he entered the foyer.
Walking past the maid cleaning the floor, he walked downstairs and noticed a letter lying on the table. Max picked it up, glanced at his servants, who were still cleaning, and opened it. The ink was clotted, and it was scrawled by a panicked head.
"Dear Friend,
"The House has been forsaken by the Ancients - I dare not enter it for fear of my mortal soul. I would suggest that you leave also. Bring the book. It is a far more potent tool than you have learned, and may well swing the balance in our favor.
A. Roivas"
What did my father mean? Who are the Ancients? I really do not understand what is going on here. Max sighed and walked towards the left of the foyer, examining the area. The carpet ended at a wall with a strange red symbol on it, which made him confused. What was even stranger was the picture hanging on the wall to his right. It was a painting of the very section of the foyer he was in, but there was a door where the symbol currently was. Strange. Why would the artist leave out such a major detail, while the rest of the details are exactly right?
Turning to the picture to his right, he saw that there were four strange sigils. Three of them were arranged in a triangular pattern, with arrows pointing from one symbol to another. The fourth one was in the middle of the others. The red sigil was the same one as the symbol on the wall. Perhaps it tells that one prevails over another. Red beats green, green defeats blue, and blue dominates red. A triangle of power. Pondering the reason why the painting was there, he walked out of the foyer and entered the kitchen.
Two maids were busy preparing the night's dinner, and greeted Maximillian as he entered. He returned the greeting and looked around. To his right, on a small table, was a stone tablet with engravings on it. The symbol was the same as the blue one in the painting, and "Ulyaoth" was carved over it. Inside the pantry was a pump handle lying on top of a wooden barrel. Wondering what these two things were doing in the kitchen, he picked up a sack of ammo from one of the shelves on the right side of the room and went to search the dining room.
Once again, the servant cleaning the room greeted him as he cleaned the windows. The table was set with silverware at each of the places, waiting for the food that was to be served. Max walked over to the fireplace, looking at the four stone blocks on its mantle. Each one had a different colored sigil on it. A small statue of a raven was in front of the stone with the purple sigil. Above them was a picture with four colored circles arranged in the same way as the symbols in the other picture. There was a small inscription under the picture. "When Darkness spreads its wings before my Master Chattur'gha's greatest foe, the path to truth will be opened."
Examining the painting again, Max slid the statue to where it was in front of the stone with the blue symbol. The back of the fireplace lowered, and a draft from the room beyond blew out the fire. Glancing at his servant, he saw that he was still busy cleaning the windows, and apparently hadn't noticed the secret passageway. Max got to his hands and knees and crawled through the passage. Behind him, the servant stopped what he was doing and watched his master, eyes narrowing. He picked up a knife from the table, hid it in his jacket, and went back to work.
The room he was now in appeared to be some sort of study. Shelves full of books were around the room, along with some paintings of various things. A cavalry sabre was hanging on the wall, along with another Flintlock pistol. He put the pistol under his belt and took the sabre in hand. A scroll of paper sat on a nearby chair, and it was covered with strange symbols and words.
"With this enchantment, the invisible is rendered visible. Use it wisely, for some things are invisible for a reason, and mortalkind not meant to see them."
Revealing the invisible… Maybe this has something to do with that strange symbol on the wall. Something on the desk in the middle of the room caught his attention. As Max walked over to it, he noticed that a large, leather-bound book was amidst all the others. When he picked it up, he noticed a letter slip out from between the pages. He caught it before it landed on the floor. At the same time, a red rune appeared in the air of the foyer, and a reddish-colored Horror dropped through it, letting out an almighty roar. Max's eyes widened as he heard the roar, barely noticing that the spell scroll he was holding had vanished. He opened up the letter, reading it quickly. It was almost indecipherable, but he was able to read it.
"Dear Friend,
"As I suspected, the Ruins of Ehn'gha - that blasted necropolis - lie deep under the site of the mansion! The accursed servants of Chattur'gha are so close I can almost hear their chittering!
"There is a secret opening in the basement, and from there we can gain access… I urge you to gather some men and seal it, or better still destroy that cursed place! I have stowed something that you will find useful on the upper level. Look to the light, and you will find it. I wish that I could be at your side, but my ailment worsens daily and I know that my time is short…
A.R."
Ehn'gha? What is this place that my father wrote of? I must find the entrance and see this for myself. He crawled back through the secret passageway, entering the dining room once again.
There was an inhuman hissing sound when the servant cleaning the windows turned to face him. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a knife, its sharp blade glinting in the moonlight that came in through the windows. "Stop this at once!" Max ordered.
"You know too much. You cannot be allowed to live," the servant replied in a cold voice. Panicking, the man slashed with the sabre, managing to cut deep into the servant's wrist. He looked down at the bleeding wound, then up at Max, just as the sabre was thrust into his stomach. The servant's body began to shake, and a reddish monster burst out of his chest. It opened its mouth, hissing at the frightened man. He brought down his sabre, cutting through the monster's neck. Max crouched down, doing a quick autopsy of the creature's body. He put all the notes he took on the "Chattur'gha Bonethief" in his medical journal, writing sloppily on the page. Pulling out his Flintlock pistols, he used the Chattur'gha Enchant Item spell and walked through the door.
A servant was cowering in fear at the sight of the large Horror in the foyer. Maximillian passed by him, eyeing the beast wearily. The Horror turned to face him, roaring once again. He fired off two shots at the beast's heads, but they didn't seem to do much. As the monster approached, he reloaded both pistols. Once they were both loaded, he fired at the Horror. The bullets had little effect, it seemed, and now it was close enough to swipe at Max. Its claws raked against his right arm, shredding through shirt and skin. Staggering backwards, he reloaded and fired again. The bullets slammed into its heads, and it finally fell to the ground. He did an autopsy on the "Chattur'gha Horror", both amazed and frightened by the beast. When he finished writing notes, he stabbed it one last time and cast a quick Recover spell with both alignment runes.
Max heard another hissing sound, and the maid nearby stopped cleaning the floor. He realized that she had never even looked at the Horror or paid attention to the battle. The maid dropped her brush and walked towards her master, catching a curious glimpse from the servant near the stairs. Max reloaded one of the Flintlocks, stepped out of the way of his maid's fist, and aimed the pistol right at her head. He fired, grimacing as blood splattered onto his face. Her body fell backwards, and a Chattur'gha Bonethief burst from her chest, hissing at Max. In one swift move, he drew the sabre and sliced neatly through the creature's neck. He looked at his servant near the stairs, his face betraying no emotion.
"It would be best if you leave. It is dangerous here." The servant nodded quickly and ran out the front door of the estate. Max reloaded his pistols and spotted a rune on the ground. As he picked it up, he heard a scream from the kitchen. Re-enchanting his weapons, he ran through the door.
A Trapper was patrolling the room, ignorant of the two maids in it. The nearest one, who was scrubbing the floor, looked up at Max as he entered, and he could hear an inhuman hiss. He fired at the Trapper, killing it, then shot the maid in her head. From her chest came another Bonethief, which dashed at Max. He brought up his other Flintlock and fired, hitting it dead in the middle of its head. As the creature fell to the ground, he turned to his other maid, who was cowering in fright. They're probably all like them! Nothing more than creatures that wear the skins of human! I should just kill them all now, but I must find out more… Max picked up the stone tablet with the word "Ulyaoth" on it and the pump handle from the pantry before walking out of the kitchen.
Remembering that there was another of the stone tablets upstairs, Max entered the master bedroom and picked it up. His servant noticed the strange glint in his eyes as he entered the room and gave him a worried look. "Is everything all right, sir?"
"Yes, everything is fine. Continue with your work." Maximillian exited the room and walked down the corridor, heading for the large, stained-glass window. His father had had said something of importance was hidden here, but where? Odd… There is an envelope between the cabinet and the wall. Did it fall there, or did someone hide it there…? Max picked it up, and as he did so, a felt an evil aura emanating from it. The green wax used to seal the envelope had the rune of Xel'lotath pressed into it, which he found strange. The man was about to open it, when a Bonethief jumped through the window, heading for Max. He pulled out his sabre quickly and brought it down, cutting into the creature's head. Breathing a bit hard, he looked at the envelope in his left hand and opened it up. Inside were another letter and a key. He set the empty envelope down and read the letter, written in a scrawling hand.
"Dear Friend,
"As I expected, the beasts are drawing closer to our discovery. They want the book for themselves it seems, and do not want us to have it in our possession. I have taken steps to ensure that their ilk will not touch the key in this envelope, should you fall prey to their claws.
"The envelope containing the basement key has been sealed with a corrosive magick - if one not aligned to us tries to handle it, it will be released inflicting pain, suffering and a grievous blow to their sanity, should they have any left!
"Be swift in your task!
A.R."
One not aligned to them? It mustn't be me, for their spell did not do anything to me. What was it that my family hid? Max thought hard about the letters as he walked back to the double doors and entered the foyer.
It took him less than a second to realize something wasn't right. The world around him had lost its color. As he walked down the stairs, he noticed a strange mist covering the floor. What is going on here? From the other side of the foyer came a loud roar, like that of a Horror's. Max walked over the where the sound came from, and saw a three-headed, eyeless monster standing there. This must be an Ulyaoth Horror. It… It has no eyes! Yet… It's staring right at me!
He enchanted his pistols with the Xel'lotath alignment room and stepped around the staircase, firing at the Horror's center head. It roared and stomped on the floor, sending a bolt of magickal energy surging through the floor at him. He ran out of the way and reloaded the pistols. Max opened fire on the monster again, hitting its center head, and it collapsed to the ground. As he picked up a rune, Ulyaoth, he found himself back in the second floor corridor near the double doors. Quickly checking through the Tome of Eternal Darkness, he was relieved to see the Ulyaoth rune now in it. With a plan slowly forming in his mind, he went back into the foyer and over to the strange symbol on the wall. Maximillian focused hard, and three blue runes appeared on the ground, with a strange male voice speaking their names.
"Narokath, Redgormor, Ulyaoth…" His vision had a bluish hue to it, and a wooden door, most likely the entrance to the basement, replaced the symbol in front of him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the basement key and unlocked the door. Max enchanted his sabre with the Ulyaoth rune before walking through.
The light provided from the torches gave the basement an eerie feeling. As he walked down the steps to his left, a reddish corpse at the bottom got to its feet. Max cut off its head, then hacked at its body, questioning the monster's existence. The walking dead! It is not possible for the dead to walk! A Chattur'gha Bonethief burst out of its torso, but was dispatched before it could even hiss. Suddenly, before he could even turn around, powerful arms grabbed Max from behind, pinning his arms against his sides. Jaws clamped down on his right arm, just under his shoulder. The monster's teeth bit down even harder, tearing away at his flesh. Max cried out in pain and rammed his elbow into the creature's gut, knocking it off balance. He then spun around and slashed rapidly at its torso until it fell.
"Narokath, Santak, Chattur'gha…" Red spheres flew into his body, mending the wound a bit. He crouched down by the creature, writing notes in his journal. When he was done, he stabbed the "Chattur'gha Zombie" and kicked it in its head to make sure it would never get up again. Max looked around the basement, noticing a stone tablet on a shelf near an old water-filled well. The words "Bankorok" and "Protect" were etched into it. Sitting on the well's ledge was a scroll of paper like the one he found in the secret study. He picked it up, quickly reading the words on it.
"This incantation exerts a force of mystical power within the confines of it runes. Nothing may enter till it is dispelled."
Max looked at the pump near the well, thinking hard. Its handle was missing. Who could have removed this, and why? He thought to himself as he took the pump handle in hand. Something must be hidden beneath the well. He used the handle to drain the well, revealing a ladder leading down into the darkness. Reloading both Flintlocks and putting them under his belt, Max climbed down the ladder.
The stench of rotting flesh hit him as he reached the bottom. Behind him was a rotting zombie, its body made of nothing more than bone and sinew. Sabre in hand, he cut swiftly through the creature's body in one move. It dropped the Bankorok rune, the last component to the Damage Field spell. Off to his left was a winding staircase, which was blocked further down by a barrier with the image of the Bankorok rune on it. To the left of it was a balcony of sorts, and when he walked into it, he saw a fantastic sight. Below him was a great city, its streets lit by an unknown light source. Nine spires towered over all the other buildings, the purpose they served eluding him.
"This must be Ehn'gha… Just as my father mentioned… It's more fantastic than I could have imagined!" Still in awe from the sight, he stepped backwards. Maybe he could find a way into the city and explore it. The barrier over the staircase vanished, allowing him to walk down it. As he got nearer to the bottom, he saw a large opening, most likely the entrance to the city. He enchanted both his pistols when he reached the bottom, just in case. It was time to see what lay hidden in Ehn'gha.
Insanity Prevails
He walked down the steps in front of him, now at the entrance to the city. He was standing on a stone bridge over some sort of dark red liquid. The scent of blood was heavy in the air, and the air had a strange quality to it. Something wasn't right, making him worried. "Bankorok, Pargon, Redgormor, Pargon, Pargon, Chattur'gha, Pargon…" Looking around, he tried to figure out who or what was casting the spell. A red sphere of light flew from behind Max and hovered a few feet ahead of him. It vanished, and a large spider-like creature replaced it. It stared at Max, watching him.
Is this… a Guardian of Chattur'gha that my father mentioned? The creature swept the area before itwith one of its bladed front legs. Five red runes appeared on the ground, and the monster began to cast a spell. "Antorbok, Pargon, Redgormor, Chattur'gha, Pargon…" Red lightning shot through the ground at Max, who narrowly dodged it by running out of the way. He pulled the trigger on both enchanted pistols, managing to hit the Guardian. Roaring in pain, it changed into a sphere of light and floated around the area. The Roivas quickly reloaded his pistols, and when the Guardian reappeared, he pulled both triggers at once. The enchanted bullets slammed into the monster's mouth, tearing through the flesh there. It roared weakly, rearing up on its back legs before falling backwards.
Max reloaded the Flintlocks and stuck them in his belt as he walked over to the Guardian, touching one of its legs hesitantly. He had never seen a creature so terrifying as this in his whole life.
"The accursed beast was dead, but not without its toll on me. That was but one, and there was a whole city of them. I could not hope to fight them all alone. I knew I had to get help…"
He staggered up the winding staircase tiredly, exhausted from the fighting and eager to get back to the mansion. The smell of blood in the air was nauseating him. When he reached the mansion, he entered the secret study once more and sat down at the desk. The Roivas pulled out the Tome of Eternal Darkness, set it on the desk, and began to read through it.
"I knew there was a way. I just had to find it…"
Three months later…
A man stood facing one of the corners of his padded cell, his arms tied behind him by his straight jacket. His head had been completely shaved, with the exception of a few patches of brown hair. Rats scurried across the room, ignoring its occupant. "I tried… I tried to tell them… But they wouldn't listen to me…" he raved, voice frantic. "Curse them… Curse their eyes!" he shouted as he spun around. The insane man turned around, and it was Maximillian Roivas. "They didn't believe me… Strange creatures… The world in peril from unseen foes… The death… The Darkness!"
Max slid down the wall and into a sitting position, his voice taking on a feverish tone. "Instead they jeered and threw me into this forsaken place… A place of empty souls and fevered thoughts… reeking of foetor and decay! Thinking me mad with delirium!" He chuckled. "The fools cast away their hopes of salvation by locking me in the wretched asylum!"
Staggering to his feet, he ran over to the door to his cell and slammed his shoulder against it. "May the rats eat your eyes!" he screamed. "I am not lost to your cause!" Max sobbed, looking out into the corridor. "The Darkness comes! It will claim us all!"
((A/N: I still think this is the worst chapter of all…))