COTN House of Micha Part 9

9.  Third Junction

The bodies are missing; but the ropes are still there and so are some of the bones which still hung there. More to it, there is a new column of Red Guards outside the Outpost now. They numbered about fifty of them,and they are not here for the camping. The guards are double posted around the place.

"Kiring, something not right about this place. My Mother stood here to look at it for hours. Now we find more Guards on duty here. What do you think they are guarding?" Medi keep on staring at it. She can still remember the last visit and Elgin had to leave his men behind.

Then they got their answer.

Its the High Priest Monik, and he is being led by the Sorceress into the Outpost. She did not come alone as she has a column of another fifty Guards.

Kiring and Medi stayed for a while and looking at the place when they saw the second column coming in. Its the General Darren and he is leading a group of prisoners, namely the Orcs. They are about ten of them higher than Man and yet bigger in frame than Man. The Orcs are not in chain but marching willingly behind the General. More to it, the Orcs are all armed with war hammer and large picks. That was not all; as in the end of the column there are ten Dwarfs who traveled on the wagons. They are armed with thick broad swords, or war hammers.

They went into the Outpost leaving another fifty Guards on the outside.

"Well, ladies. I am wondering if I should introduce myself or just draw my sword?"

The ladies to see the Judas Warrior standing there; there are about fifty of them with half of them have arrows notched in their bow.

"My name is Jedi of the Judas Warrior. If I can recalled, you must be Medi and you Kiring. Cedi dropped be at the Camp recently. He gave me an update on who to protect on the ground. We been following the Column on the instruction of Cedi. Cedi is tracking Lord Netsu himself."

"Where is Malech?" Medi asked of the Judas Warrior.

"Malech is back at Dark Valley. He said he need to check on something So tell me about your visit here?"

It did not take long for the three to exchange their updates and it was near dawn when they saw the Outpost gates opened. There was the General and his personal guards running out followed by the Sorceress. The Sorceress stood back and lashed out some fire spells using her hand. The Outpost gates closed behind her but no one else came out.

No Orcs, and no dwarfs.

"Seal the gates. We would leave now." Soon the entire Guards marched from the Outpost with the General Darren taking the lead.

Jedi decided to follow Medi and Kiring to the Outpost Gates.

"Its sealed with a magical spell, but I think I can open it." Kiring walked to a barrel of water. She raised her bracelet over it and the shield appear. She walked towards the gates again and pushed with the shield. The magical spell broke down and the gates open.

The trio walked in and they saw the unexpected sight. There were bodies all around; Guards, Orcs, dwarfs and also some man sized serpents. The serpents were not cut or slashed but pulled apart by force or crushed by force. Its not a battle but a butcher house or yard in this case.

"Kiring, there is something in the Tower." Medi shout from inside the Tower across the deep moat. Kiring ran across with Jedi to the Tower. They went in and saw a hole in the center of the tower; one that is big enough for someone or something to come out or in. Medi is standing by the hole, and looked down it.

"Something down there. We have to do down. Pass me that rope." Medi motioned to Jedi. Jedi tied the rope to the door latch and threw the other end down the hole.

"I am going down." Medi did not wait for an answer; she was already lowering herself down. "Come on down, its only a short drop. There is a tunnel here."

The trio are in the tunnel lighted up by Medi' flamming spear. They walked for a while before realizing they are going downwards. They came up facing down to a large cavern which has rows of holes in the wall. Jedi counted like a hundred holes out there, but they are no burrows; more like small tunnels. Tunnels which are secreting a monstrous looking tall creature with long limbs.

" I seen them before. They were in the Dark Valley; the House of Canaan when they slaughter the refugees. Holy Ones, Malech is there with them. We got to warn him." Medi whispered to the others.

"Intruders!"

Medi turned to see behind them in the tunnel is one of them. The creature is shouting out loud and alerting the others. Medi saw them looking at her. She pushed out with her spear and lit up the one in the tunnel.

"Run for the entrance!" Medi told Kiring but the tunnel was blocked by more of the long limbed creature.

Kiring does not have her shield now but she took out the mini daggers to assimilate into her hand. Jedi took up his long handle sword with the sickle. Medi used her flame to keep them at bay but they need to get out.

"Jedi, is that water in the container?" Kiring point to Jedi at his waist.

"Its my wine container. For moments like this." Jedi took it out and opened the cover. He placed it at the ground before Kiring.

Kiring placed her bracelet over the wine container. She called up the spell and the shield appeared. The long limbed creatures held back on seeing Kiring' shield.

"They fear it. But why?" Medi asked Kiring but Kiring is just too busy holding back the creatures.

"Why did you come back here?" Kiring asked Medi.

"I need to know why my Mother keep on looking at this place. What do you know?"

"When I was apprentice to Malech, he once told me of the poison by the Serpent Clan who made our people like these. There are no cure and they are called the Unnamed. Maybe your Mother know too." Kiring told Medi. " We got to stop them from going out. We have to sealed the hole."

Kiring ran towards the tunnel exit while the Unnamed withdrew into the ground or any cracks they can find. Medi and Jedi followed closely behind.

"Climb up first, Jedi. Get me some of those wine barrels you saw outside the Tower. Medi, help him. I would stay here." But Medi stayed behind.

"I can use the flame to hold them back too." Medi sent off a few more spurt of flame.

Then the barrels start coming down, and Kiring kicked it out down the tunnel.

"Fire them, Medi." Kiring shouted out. Medi did as she was told, and the barrels start to burst up into flaming balls that rolled down to the cavern.

"Feed us more wine, Jedi." Kiring shout back up the hole.

"There ain't no more barrels." Jedi replied back.

"Damned!" Kiring motioned to Medi to climbed out. She followed suit.

Kiring climbed out and looked around. She saw the barrels of water outside the tower. By instinct, her left hand with the bracelet reached out to the barrels and she chant a spell. The water began to formed into a series of shields which went down the tunnel.

"We got to run. The shields is burrowing into the walls of the cavern. Its going to crack the walls and bring it down. It would bring the whole place down. The Tower and everything." Kiring shouted out and ran fast. Medi followed him and then pulled Jedi along. The ran out the Outpost gates and out to the open ground. They keep on running without looking back at the Outpost although they can feel the ground vibrate and then the sound of crumbling earth.

They reached the forest edge and met the rest of the Judas Warriors.

"Look there." One of the warriors motioned to the trio.

The whole tower is sinking down and so are the Outpost walls. The ground then crumbled making a bigger crater where once there was an Outpost.

"Its for the better. They cannot be cured. Your Mother probably sensed it. She tried to help but she could not. General Darren and the Sorceress are trying to control them but it does not work. This is all the workings of Set. We got to stop him from doing this to more people. Do you understand, Medi?" Kiring glared at Medi.

"I would not hesitate to kill him. So would you." Kiring continue in her words. Her words are not shallow threats but deep angry ones.