Shadows of the Mind

The further down the winding staircase they travelled, the more the darkness thickened ad clung onto their very beings, seeping into their clothes, dripping into every crevice, every nook and crack in the stone surrounding them. Once they'd finally made it to the bottom, they were almost drowning in their own blindness, and Ben didn't like it.

From the glow of the barrier, some hundred feet above them or so, he could just about make out the remains of what appeared to be once mighty pillars, rags hanging on either side which could only have been flags, though whatever colour was once in them was now faded and dull.

The captain caught himself poking at his now sewn up wound and forced himself to pull his hand away, not wanting to cause his blood to start flowing again. It was already bad enough with the amount he'd lost already; along with the darkness, his sight was being impaired by the consistent presence of spots floating across his line of sight.

"You know I said it looked 'somewhat dark'?" Walter suddenly asked as they stepped through into a long corridor, the floor laid with different coloured slabs of what looked like marble, "Well, I'd like to amend that statement: we're looking into utter, total, complete darkness."

"You sure that's not an understatement?" he asked, leaning on his knees as another wave of nausea hit him, trying to make light of the situation they were in; hundreds of feet underground, with no one with any idea of where they were, in a darkness as black as night.

As he'd been talking, the sound of paws on the stone became gradually louder. Looking around him, Ben realised that Milena's dog wasn't with them, so it must have been him. It was moments later when the canine bounded into view, with a rather large object held firmly in his mouth.

Walter began to kneel down. "Oh, what've you got there boy?" he asked, holding out his hand. When he held… whatever it was, he let out a triumphant yell, "You little genius! Good boy." Tyson barked, but remained to watch the old man as the unmistakable clicks and flashed of a tinderbox filled the room. Suddenly, there was a flare, and the corridor was illuminated by the torch grasped in the knight's hand. "Oh now, that's better."

"Better?" Ben asked playfully, "How's it better now that we can see your ugly…" he yelped in pain when the princess' fist came in contact with his arm. He was about to make a remark when he noticed her shaking her head. Not the time.

Luckily for him, Walter hadn't heard his comment, and was busy looking around the place. It was as decrepit as the rest of the cave; chunks of rock missing from once smooth walls, pillars that looked like malformed tree trunks, slabs missing from the floor. There was one thing though, that Ben did not expect; they were surrounded by unlit candles and wax.

"So," Walter began, "what do you think this place is?"

Milena shrugged, "I have no idea."

"Maybe it's some sort of underground training facility." The young captain said, knowing full well that that wasn't the case, but he wished to Avo that it was.

Walter sniggered. "That'll be the day…" he held their only source of light up higher, spreading its range. "Temple of some sort?"

More like devil worship! "And what could anyone possibly worship in here?" Ben said, "They'd go blind!" His two companions turned to face him, annoyed frowns on their faces. "What?"

The princess sighed. "How many times do we have to tell you to shut up, Ben?"

Did the soldier not get it, or was he trying to scare Walter on purpose? Or had the lack of blood had made him brain dead? Either way, Milena made a mental note to make sure he paid for what he'd done later.

It was frightening, knowing your mentor, the man you've looked up to for almost the entirety of your life, was as terrified, if not more so, as you. She could understand why, but it was still hard to accept it. When Ben had suggested that they could be locked in eternal darkness, she saw him shiver.

As they exited the small corridor, a light both from above and a familiar purple glow up ahead made the grand, collapsed hall seem more like a graveyard. The princess shivered as she remembered her time in Mourningwood; the hobbes, the hollow men… Major Swift… She still couldn't believe he was gone, and even though she'd only known him for a short time, she'd respected him to the highest degree, though there was no way she could ever understand what kind of loss these two men felt, what betrayal.

"Woah!" Walter exclaimed, pulling his student out from her thoughts, "We're not going any further this way."

He was right. Between them and the way out was a chasm that seemed endless, the thick shadows clinging to its depths. There was probably a way across, and from the way the banisters were arranged, it seemed that it must have a bridge of some kind. As Milena let her eyes explore the decrepit 'temple', she noticed something sticking out of the ground on the other side, right in the centre of the platform.

"Walter," she asked, pointing towards the strange… lever, "what do you suppose that is?"
Squinting, the knight followed her directions. "Looks like a bridge." He scratched his chin. "Is that the mechanism to raise it on the other side?"

Ben chuffed, causing the both of them to turn. He was leaning against the entrance, trying hard not to look as tiered as he was, but it was far too obvious for the princess to ignore. She was about to say something, but he began to shuffle towards them. "It had better be, otherwise we're stuck here!" Did this man have no sense of sympathy? "Mind you, if this was a temple, then there must be a way across."

It made sense. Unless someone was always on the other side of this canyon, then there would have been no way for worshipers to get across from this direction, which seemed like a stupid idea; leaving valuable worshipers here to die…

The torchbearer beside her began to look around, going back towards the ignorant captain, swinging the fire back and forth until the light settled upon a brake in the uniformity of the banister. It was a set of steps that led down to a collapsed floor, some fifteen feet below the edge. "Here we go. You should be able to make it to the other side from here."

Milena nodded, then taking a quick look back at the resting soldier, she jumped.

When the princess disappeared over the edge of the stairway, Ben felt his heart jump, and he felt himself waiting for the cry that never came; the cry he knew would never come. Why was he worried about her? She could take care of herself. She was a Hero for Avo's sake!

Suddenly, he became aware of the hand on his arm and looked up to find Walter smiling at him. "Come on Ben. We'd best get ready to move."

Slowly, they walked towards the pit, the captain holding onto his friend's shoulder as the spots began to return, making sure he didn't collapse because of a little blood loss. By the time they got there and the dizziness had dissipated, Milena was already at the platform, stepping cautiously towards the lever.

"Okay be careful now." Walter shouted, "That thing's probably pretty stiff, and we don't want to make any more noise than we have to."

Ben snorted. "With all the noise you're making," he said, "I don't think she has to worry about that." He knew the old man was giving him one of those looks, but refused to return it, only watching the young woman opposite them.

With a great clunk, the lever moved under the weight of the young Hero.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and large pieces of the architecture fell from the ceiling, forcing the already unstable man to grip tighter onto his support. The bridge shot out from the other side, making the ground shudder as it finally stopped.

They made their way over the newly formed bridge. "Yes... and quiet as stealthy mice, the adventurers forged on ahead." Walter said before pausing, cocking his head to one side.

Something… whispered. It wasn't a nice one, like wind whistling through cracks, or a friend asking if you were all right, it was more like enemies conspiring to do you harm, their words too quiet to hear, but sinister all the same.

"Did you…?"

"I know I have a tendency to be slightly paranoid," Walter interrupted, "but did that sound like something friendly to you?"

None of them spoke, eyes dashing everywhere in expectation, daring whatever it was that had made that noise to come out and join them, to face them on equal terms. As they ascended the stairs, Ben could almost touch the tension in the air, the unseen eyes watching them from a safe distance.

As they drew ever closer the top, the blond haired man saw the exit, blocked by the eerie glow of a barrier.

"Now where have we seen that before?" asked Walter sarcastically, letting the younger man fall behind as he neared the magical wall. Pulling the book he'd picked up earlier out of his pocket, the knight cleared his throat. "Stand back. Walter the scholar will deal with this." He flicked through the pages. "Hmm... with an increasing sense of trepidation, admittedly." He coughed again. "'Luminous spirits of the sands, inhale the restless glaoming'."

Just as it had done before, the words on the pages began to glow, and the path became clear. "There you go, what can I say?" Walter returned the book to his pocket, "I have a knack for gibberish."

Before he could get left behind, Ben dashed for them… just before the way became blocked.

"Um. Do you ever get the feeling that somebody's playing games with us?" Walter's voice wavered even as he spoke and Ben felt his mouth dry. If this man, one of the best fighters in the whole of Albion, if not the best beside the princess and… Major Swift, was getting scared of something besides his own personal fears, then there was definitely something to be worried about.

Milena smiled at them, and he could feel his heart light up. She nodded. "All the time."

"Lets just be thankful and get through this place as quickly as we can." Her mentor said, and he continued on, holding the torch above their heads, leading the way towards what was hopefully the exit.

Walking down yet another staircase, with yet more candles and tattered flags, sand covering most of the floor and unable to see much further than the area the torch brought light to, it was enough to make this journey seem endless. Luckily, the sunlight from some cracks in the rocks brought a little more light, making the whole place seem less…

The light faded, leaving only the fire from the torch as they were surrounded by darkness, and finally, the presence they had all been feeling since she had moved the bridge made itself known.

Its voice was as slick as oil, blotting out Milena's confidence, her hope, her happiness. "The light you bring will die. The light inside you will die…"

Walter began to turn, looking for the source of the voice, Ben began to reach for his pistol and the princess could feel her fingers twitching towards her hammer. "Who's there?" Walter asked.

"All that you are will die."
"Show yourself!"

There was silence. There was no sound. It was as if she'd lost her sense of sound, but then there was a hiss, long and purposely drawn out as hundreds of pairs of glowing eyes appeared in the shadows, like balvarines waiting to pounce in the woods at Silverpines.

"Ah shit!" Ben exclaimed, pulling his pistol out and firing it towards their unseen foes, only to have the weapon fail, forcing him to pull out his cutlass.
The voice laughed, chilling her to the bone. "The children are here to play."

Creatures of shadow emerged from the darkness, advancing slowly, wings outstretched, weapons drawn. As the captain cut into one, it disintegrated into dust, vanishing into thin air. Walter used the torch as his weapon, sparks flying as it came into contact with the things. "What are they?" he cried as he hit another.

"Be corrosive. Be pernicious. Be diseased. Be devoured." The voice taunted, even as they destroyed more of its 'children'.

As the fight wore on, Milena felt herself block out all the outside distractions. The voices became a blur and all that was keeping her there was the seemingly endless flow of enemies, keeping her occupied, distracted.

A hand fell on her shoulder and she began to swing her hammer round… almost hitting Ben who had quickly stepped away.

"You're tainted." The voice said, "The stain will never wash out. The sun will never shine upon you again. Tainted broken little toys."

"It's alright." Walter said, urging on, "We're alright. We... we just have to keep going, that's all. We're all all right."

As they continued to travel further into the depths of the darkness, Milena became distinctly aware of the terror her mentor was emitting. It was almost tangible. Eyes appeared before them, coming closer and closer…

"More of those things!" the knight cried, swinging the torch back and forth as a colony of bats flew over his head. When he realised his mistake, he let out a deep breath. "Come on Walter. Just hold it together."

As they moved further and further down, the young woman could feel her grip on reality slipping; the darkness was still surrounding them, beneath them, it scurried across the ground if they got too close, and drifted away as the light touched it. More and more bats flew by them, squeaking in fear, heading in the opposite direction to them. This did not bode well. That, and the fact that Ben hadn't spoken for more than a minute.

The soldier looked very pale, and was constantly leaning on the walls for support, showing how his wound and the fight had affected him, but he was keeping up, like the stubborn man she knew he was. There was no way he was going to let this beat him.

As they passed some ominous looking statues, Walter continued to rant. "Damn this book and whoever wrote it. The bastard. Why didn't they tell us what was down here? 'Darkness incarnate'. Like we're supposed to know what that means." More of the shadows scurried away. "It won't stop. It won't stop till it kills us"

Milena froze. Was… was that defeat? Was that the voice of surrender? She shook her head. Not Walter. No. She turned to Ben, his face equally wide eyed with worry, but he continued on, remaining unusually silent as they began to scale yet more stairs.

She sighed when she felt a breeze across her face, letting it cool her down as she… a breeze?

Walter must have felt it too because he was running now, leaving them behind. "Wait, I think we must be close to an exit. There's a cold breeze. Can you feel it?"

Quickening her pace, the princess caught up to him as they got closer to the next doorway. "Walter! You have to wait!"

He didn't hear her, but he did slow down a bit as the whispering began again. "There's that sound again. It's almost like..."

A sudden gust of wind blew through the corridors, extinguishing his words, and with it, the light.

"No! Not the light. Not the bloody light." Walter cried, his voice the only point of reference Ben had for his and the princess' location. After falling behind, he had doubled his efforts in trying to reach them, but without the light and his wound, it made it near impossible.

Suddenly, there were several flashes from a tinderbox, illuminating the knight's face as he leant over the torch. "Come on, work, dammit. Those things are all around us! Come on, come on, come on!"

When he finally relit our only source of light, a wave of relief washed over them, but it was short lived. As he turned, the creature grinned.

It had a head not all that dissimilar to a spider's, with at least six eyes and a mouth that seemed to open any way it wanted. Its lanky body was hunched over, its long arms almost touching the ground as it stared at the terrified man.

"Walter!"

The old man swung the torch back and forth, the light blinding the captain momentarily, giving the creature time to leave.

"Balls." Walter whispered. "No, no, no, no, no... No, no, we have to get out of here, you hear me? You hear me? We have to get out of here!" he continued, picking up speed, making it harder for Ben to keep up. "As long as we have fire we'll be all right. We have to keep walking and we'll get out of here and we'll be all right."

"We are coming…" the voice said, piercing through every fiber of his very being, cutting down any hope he had of escaping without ever seeing it again.

"It's here!" Walter exclaimed frantically, dropping into an almost sprint, leaving him behind to fend for himself in the darkness. He could felt the shadows moving around him as he tried to move closer to the light, its fingers holding him back.

"…we will devour your kingdom"

He tore through the nets holding him, forcing himself forwards, ignoring the fatigue he felt.

"There will be no bargains. There will be only darkness…

"Leave us alone!" Walter cried, a beacon in the night, drawing him towards his friends.

"The children command it."

Suddenly, the hall was filled with light as Milena used her Will to blast several of the shadow beings into the next universe with one of her fireballs. If his gunpowder were dry, he'd have been right there beside her, but as it was, he was forced to go one on one with his cutlass. It wasn't his weapon of choice, but at least it got the job done.

"It doesn't matter if you leave. We are inside you. Your heart, your lungs, your thoughts will all be blackened!" Ben could feel his mind beginning to mist over as the effects of his wound was starting to take over. "You will turn to moss and dust and we will take the darkness into the world." Still he fought, but his grip on consciousness was slipping, and he knew, if he didn't rest soon, there would be no hope. "You bring the light but it betrays you. It knows you're not worthy of its toxic gleam."

Finally the shadows ceased their advance, and the captain collapsed to the floor in a heap, rubbing his eyes to make the spots disappear.

"Did the blind seer not tell you about us? Did she not warn you?" The voice laughed a deep, soul curdling laugh.

Walter snapped. "QUIET!"

Even though he couldn't see what was going on, at least not completely, he could hear it. He could hear the thud of wood on stone, the screams of some ungodly creature calling out in pain, the whispers ceasing their murmuring. The light was gone, but so was the darkness.

"It's gone," the old man sighed, "The bastard's dead and gone. And we're getting out of here."

"Wait!" Milena exclaimed. He could feel her hand on his shoulder as she leant in next to him, pulling him up to his feet. "Come on Ben, we've got to move."

He waved her off. "Don't you worry about me, love. You go on ahead, I'll catch up soon." I hope, he added to himself. His sight had cleared up enough for him so see her nod her head, going back to the old man's side.

As the pair left, he returned his attention to his sight. It didn't really help that the floor was moving (or was that just him) or that it was almost pitch black anyway, but as he moved around a corner, the light from one of those barriers made it easier to tell. Now that the ground had ceased oscillating, all that remained were the spots, which were easy enough to live with. Taking a deep breath, he continued onwards.

"…isn't far down!" Milena's voice exclaimed from around the next turn.

"Right, here I come then." Walter replied, his voice much closer than the princess'. "Three... Two..." Ben turned the corner and his eyes widened at what he saw.

The creature was there, stood right behind him, a cloud of darkness swirling around in anticipation behind him, ready for a feast. "One..."

"No!" He dove, pushing the knight, Albion's protector, over the edge just as the creature reached out. It cried out in frustration, but when it's eyes fell on him, lying helpless on the floor, it grinned.

"Perfect." It said, before his world was claimed by the darkness.

AN - #Gasp# That's the longest chapter I've ever written! Wow! I can't believe I've actually done it!

I hope you guys had a great time reading this (I sure did writing it!).

Yet again, no promises as to when the next chapter will be up. I kind of felt like this bit had to be done before I did anything else.

Once again, I'm sorry I haven't uploaded anything for my other stories for a while, but I will soon! (hopefully)