Back yet again. Read on folks, only two chapters left after this!
Lara sighed, placing her hands on her hips as she looked up to the small patch of tall trees set atop the dirt mound. This is the legendary Dundermot Mound? she thought humorously. So where was the cabbie that would ask about the Glarryford Bridge?
"This is spectacular," Kurtis said with sarcasm.
"Now how do we get in?" Lara asked, heading towards the mound in the distance. Kurtis followed after her, the cool air blowing past them as the moon illuminated the night sky. The mound literally was nothing more than a pile of dirt and trees. Lara folded her arms over her chest, puzzled. "Alister, what exactly are we looking for?"
"Well, in case you've forgotten, Dundermot Mound was also called the Dundermot Fort…"
"A barracks used in wartime, yes," Lara said. "But how does that help?"
"Assuming that it's either a) a portal to hell, or b) an old barracks, you'll have to get inside it either way. Once you're in, you'll be looking for the Hall of Lumen. The sword is hidden in there."
"Yes, but that doesn't help us in this current predicament," she argued. "There's no entrance."
"So make one!" Alister said. "It's never been a problem before."
Lara sighed, irritated with Alister's lack of help. "Any satellite feeds of the area?"
"None," Zip chipped in. "The place is a mystery. The satellite feeds show it as nothing more than an old pile of dirt and trees. Nothing underground, nothing anywhere."
"Mystics often berate logic," Lara reminded them. "We'll figure something out."
Lara turned to speak to Kurtis, but found him gone. She glanced about for a bit, calling his name. Then, she heard him off in the distance to the right. She followed his voice, finding him crouched down near a small groove hidden on the side of one of the stones. "Look familiar?" he asked.
Lara pondered over the shape in the rock for a moment, then brightened up. She removed the Lux disk from her knapsack, holding the illuminated, gold object up in their vision. "I have to admit – Siamak was quite brilliant." She handed the disk over to Kurtis, and he placed it into the groove of the stone. He stepped back, waiting for a moment. Then, the mound of dirt began to shake violently. Lara and Kurtis fought to hold onto their footing as the earth before them seemed to split in half. Lara took a cautious step backwards, watching as the seemingly endless depth of the hole continue to open before her. After several moments, it stopped.
"So I see you found your way inside, then," Alister said over the comm-set.
"And where do we go from here?" Lara asked. "You said the Hall of Lumen?"
"Yes," Alister replied. "Do you remember the Hall of Seasons and the Tomb of Ancients in France?" he asked, reminding her of her adventures back in Paris while hunting for the Obscura Painting.
"How could I forget?" she asked irritably.
"Well, supposedly, this place is quite similar, at least in environmental texture, anyway."
"And where is the sword?" Lara asked.
"Somewhere in the Hall of Lumen," Alister said.
"As if that wasn't obvious," she said with annoyance. "We'll figure it out, no thanks to you." She drew in a deep breath. "Well, through the mystic portal to the underworld, we go." She bent down and retrieved the Lux disk. Then, she and Kurtis set foot forward into the dark depths of the descending stairwell, heading into hell with each step they took.
One hour before
"Hey, you," a gruff voice said. "Wake up." Emily felt a soft nudge against her ribs and opened her eyes up to see a tall, stocky man with a mangled beard standing over her, prodding her in the side with his boots. She rubbed her eyes, sitting up. "What the hell are you doing on my boat?" he demanded.
Emily glanced around, then looked up at the man. "I-I'm sorry," she muttered. "I'm trying to get to Glarryford."
"Glarryford?" the man asked, puzzled. "Nothing there but some cottages and trees." Emily slowly rose to her feet, still weary from the small nap she'd taken after stowing away on the boat. "You need to get off my barge," he said. "Stowaways aren't treated nicely around here. Since you're a kid, though, I suppose a quick warning will be enough."
"I'm sorry," she said again. "I heard you were heading north. Are we in Staffordstown?"
"We are," he said, scooping up the ropes that she'd been sleeping on. "Glarryford is about twenty minutes north of here by car."
"Car?" Emily asked, glancing around. "I don't see any cars."
"Coach, cabbie, same damn thing. Staffordstown isn't so popular," he muttered. "Now, I thought I told you to get off my boat?"
Emily sighed. "Alright, I'm going," she muttered. "Which direction do I take to get there?"
He eyed her suspiciously as he continued to wrap the rope into a coil. "Why are you heading towards old Glarryford anyway?"
"I'm looking for my parents," she said. "They went to Dundermot Mound."
The man laughed heartily. "No one goes to Dundermot Mound. Don't you know? The place is haunted."
"So I've heard," Emily humored him. "But that's where they are. They're…" What could she tell him about her parents without sounding too suspicious? "They're photographers from London. They're adding the photos to their collection to sell once they get back to the United Kingdom. I was staying with a friend in Maghery, but I wanted to find them. I suppose I should've asked before getting on the boat though…"
The man stood up fully, sighing with exhaustion as he gazed over the young girl before him. She held eye contact with him, hoping she'd sounded earnest enough to get him under her thumb. Then, he slung the rope over his shoulder. "Tell you what, kid," he said. "I'll arrange a ride for you into Glarryford. A pal of mine is heading north into Derry. I'll have him drop you at Ballymena. It's a five minute walk to Glarryford from there."
"And to Dundermot Mound?" she asked.
"Right at the heart of Glarryford," he said. "It's nothing but a big pile of dirt and trees. I guarantee your cabbie won't get close enough to the damned hell-hole, so you'll have to make it there yourself."
"No problem," Emily said. "I appreciate the help."
"Just don't let me catch you here on my boat again," he warned. "And I guarantee no other fishermen would be as kind to you as I was, so you'd be wise not to get on anyone else's boat either."
"I won't," she promised him. "Thank you."
"Catch a ride in the old jeep over there," he said, pointing to a small land jeep in the distance where a man was loading crates into the back. "Tell the driver that Phil is sending you into Ballymena to pick up a load."
"Phil," Emily repeated. "Okay, I will. Thanks again, mister."
Emily drew in a deep breath, pulling her backpack taught against her back. She'd had no idea that stowing away on someone's boat would've been such a big deal, but she was grateful to have learned the lesson the easy way. She glanced up at the sky, grateful it had stopped raining. It must've been just near ten o'clock or so. She couldn't have been gone that long…
Emily approached the tall man loading crates into the jeep. He stopped, looking her up and down with irritation, then leaned against the jeep, pushing another box into the back. "Whatcha want, kid? A job?" he asked with a heavy Irish accent.
"No," she shook her head. "Phil is sending me into Ballymena to pick up a load," she said.
"Phil?" he asked. "So you are on a job, then. You're a little bit too young to be out pickin' up a load, ain't you?"
"Internal, not external," she challenged, although she had absolutely no idea what 'picking up a load' meant.
He chuckled a bit, running his fingers through the brown locks of his forehead. "Ay, then. Climb into the seat. You'll have to hold onto a box on the way out, though. Not enough room in the back."
Emily pulled herself into the passenger seat as the man seated himself into the driver's seat. He hauled the box over himself and onto her lap, dropping it with a thud. Emily groaned, shuffling the wooden crate on her lap. "It's a little heavy…"
He turned the engine over, grinning at her. "You said you'd manage?"
Emily challenged him with her own grin. "Did I say heavy? I meant, 'that's nothing!'" Although of course, she could feel the wooden edges digging into her legs.
"Alright then," he finished. He shifted the jeep into first gear and rattled down the muddy road. Emily could feel bits of mud splashing about on her bare legs and face. Why didn't I put jeans on? she thought. At least I was smart enough to put on my hiking boots…"So how far is Dundermot Mound from where you're dropping me off?"
The man glanced suspiciously at her. "About a half-mile walk out. Why do you ask?"
"Just curious," she said. "I'd like to check it out while I…wait for my next ride after picking up the load," she said slowly, trying not to give off unwanted attention.
"Something wrong with your pretty little head?" he asked. "No one goes near Dundermot Mound except tourists, though I'd assume that's what you are, you Yank."
"I'm from London, actually," she said with irritation. "I just…don't have an accent. And what does that matter? Just because I'm not afraid of some 'ghostly cabbie' doesn't imply that I'm a tourist. I don't believe in superstition."
"On your head, be it, then," he said with a shrug. "And I'd assume that means you're not really on a load pick-up, then?"
Emily glanced up at him slowly. "No, I am," she lied.
"So you came all the way from London to go pick up a crate full of herbal spices in the Ballymena pharmacy?" he asked. "I guess that's fine and dandy, if you get bored touring Parliament and the Tower of London and all that jazz."
Emily sighed with defeat. "No, I'm not picking up a load. I don't even know what that means. My parents are out by Dundermot Mound doing some photography shoot. I'm not supposed to be here, but I'm trying to meet up with them."
"I'll take you as close to Dundermot as I can without getting close to that damned cabbie," he said, "but I'm not going any closer than that, you hear?"
"I appreciate it," Emily said. "Though I doubt there's anything to worry about."
"Well, let me know how it goes after you've been asked if the bridge is still up." He turned the jeep down another muddy road to the right. "Course, you'll still have a year to live after that, but once the year's up…" He made a severing motion across his throat, indicating she'd be dead.
"You really believe all of this, don't you?" she asked, amused.
"Damn straight," he said. "I've had my fair share of ghostly encounters. Can't risk anymore."
"Right," Emily muttered. The man pulled the jeep up along a small embankment smothered with knee-length grass, enveloped in trees. "This is as close as I get," he said. "Dundermot Mound is just up beyond in that valley up there," he said, pointing past the trees. "Hope all goes well."
Emily pushed the heavy box over to the driver, sighing. "Thanks for the ride," she said. She opened the door of the jeep and stepped out. Almost immediately, the driver took off. She shook her head with a sigh. He's blowing this out of proportion. Emily trekked up the steep embankment until she saw the vast green valley lying ahead. The starry sky sparkled above as a howling wind brushed past her. She shuddered, glancing around as if expecting a coach driver to drive by. Maybe I should've just stayed with Father Patrick in Maghery, she thought. Then, she shook her head. She was this close. This close!
Emily drew in brave, deep breath, then moved forward in the direction of the mound of trees in the distance.
Lara activated her LED, descending the stairwell into the depths of Dundermot Mound with Kurtis at her side. "Scared yet?" he teased.
"Please," she begged. "Nothing scares me. I've seen it all."
Up ahead, they could see a faint glow from a light. Kurtis removed his gun, holding it low to his side for precaution. Lara's hand fell faintly upon the grip of her own pistol, but she moved forward. As the light grew brighter, they were able to see the large stone bridge that they stood on. Down below, there was a deep pool of water. The bridge had two paths that separated from it. Lara sighed. "Where to now?"
Kurtis glanced down at the water uneasily. "Not down there," he said.
"Alister, we've reached some sort of fork in the path," she said over the comm-set.
"Well, tally ho, gents," he said amusingly. "I couldn't say left or right…?"
"As if there are so many options," Lara said.
"The sword is divided into two pieces, just like the shield," he continued speculatively. "My guess is that one piece will be down one way, and the other down another way."
"It can never be simple," Lara sighed. "Right, then. We'll find our way out."
Suddenly, they heard a scuffle behind them. Lara and Kurtis simultaneously removed their weapons and spun on their heels, pointing into the darkness lying before them. "Don't shoot!" a girlish voice called. Lara lowered her gun for a moment, puzzled. Then, she sighed with frustration. "Emily, if that's you…"
Emily stepped out of the shadows into plain sight, a cautious look over her face. "Hey, guys," she said nervously.
"What are you doing here?" Lara demanded.
Emily timidly walked forward. "I wanted to be with you guys," she said.
"I have half-a-mind to slap you," Lara said irritably.
"Oh, come on, Mom!" Emily begged. "You didn't think for one second that I'd get sick of being dropped off all over the place and consider running away?"
"Lara, Father Patrick just put in a call," Alister chipped in quickly. "He says that Emily is missing."
"No, she's not," Lara argued, glaring at her daughter. "She's here with us. Tell him I'm dreadfully sorry for the panic she caused."
"Right," Alister said slowly. "Will do, then."
"How did you even get here?" Kurtis asked.
"I stowed away on some boat and hitched a ride here," she said quietly.
"Do you know how utterly stupid that is?" Lara asked. "Some sailors aren't as merciful as the one who found you apparently was – quite often they'll shoot stowaways, or even do other things…" She didn't want to think about what a group of old, dirty men would have done to her young teenage daughter.
"I'm sorry," Emily said. "But I wanted to be with you."
"You're causing a lot of problems, Emily," Lara warned.
"I can help you find the sword," Emily said. "At least, I can try."
"You'll slow us down," Lara said. "Do you know how hard it will be to have to keep our eyes out for you constantly?" Emily lowered her head, hurt by her mother's accusation. Lara sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "You have to understand where I'm coming from, though, Emily."
"Yeah," Emily said quietly. "I'm just extra weight, right?"
Lara sighed. "Emma –"
"I'll just…I'll just go wait outside, then," she said, turning.
"No, stay here," Kurtis interrupted. "You'll go with me."
"Ah, another brilliant idea," Lara said irritably.
"She's safer under my care," he said. "I'm psychic, too. It'll be harder for anyone to hurt her."
Lara glared into his eyes. "If that's how you feel, then, I hope the two of you find your piece of the sword with ease, since apparently you're so much more of a capable parent than I am."
Kurtis sighed. "Lara, don't act like this…"
"We'll rendezvous later," Lara said. "Be careful, you two."
Lara eyed Emily quickly, then turned on her heel, heading through the left hallway and out of their sight.
Aaaaaand...there ya have it. Catch y'all on Monday! =D
