A Charge of Valor

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Thor woke at dawn, squinting against the searing light of the first morning sun, a huge, blinding ball on the horizon with nothing in the landscape to shield it. He raised his hands to his eyes, and sat up slowly.

The desert was still cool in the early morning, the heat rising by the second; all around him were his brothers in arms, laid out asleep by the dying embers of the fire. Krohn lay with his head in his lap, fast asleep.

All were accounted for—except for one. Thor noticed that Conven was missing; he quickly turned and looked all around for him, and finally spotted him, about twenty feet away from the others, sitting cross legged, his back to them, looking out at the sun as it rose on the horizon.

Alarmed, Thor hurried over to him. As he walked around he saw his eyes staring right into the sun, bloodshot. He still looked grief stricken, as if he were not fully there with them. He stared into the horizon with a blank look, and Thor wondered at the depth of his sorrow.

“Conven?” he asked.

After several seconds, he finally, blankly, turned to look at Thor.

“It’s time to go,” Thor said.

Conven slowly rose, without a word, and walked to his beast, tied to a pole. Thor turned and followed him, and the others began to rise, too, all watching, wondering.

Conven was not the same person that Thor once knew, and despite himself, Thor was beginning to wonder if Conven would become a liability for them. He did not understand what Conven was going through. He was unpredictable. And he did not know how he would react in time of danger—or if he would endanger them all.

But he had no choice. As they all mounted their animals, bidding a hasty goodbye to this solitary town, they were off before the sun rose, needing to make time before they all became fried in the heat of the day.

The six of them rode their beasts at a walk across the salt landscape, all following Indra’s lead. Thor was glad to be rid of that place, and he could understand Indra’s anxiety at returning to her hometown. He would not want to be stuck there either.

Thor was still a bit lightheaded from that drink of the night before, and he tried to shake off the cobwebs. That qurum milk was powerful, and he had a hard time remembering exactly when he fell asleep.

“How much farther is the Land of the Dragons?” Reece asked Indra.

“We haven’t even entered the tunnel yet,” she said.

“Tunnel?” O’Connor asked.

“The only way to reach the Land of the Dragons is through the Great Tunnel. It connects the Salt Wastelands to the Mountains of Fire. The locals call it the Tunnel of Death. I’ve never heard of someone enter it and come out the other side.” She sighed. “But this is the journey you chose. You knew it would not be easy.”

They continued riding in silence and Thor felt the uneasiness among them as they headed across never-ending stretches of salt, as the sun rose ever higher. It felt as if they were trekking to their deaths.

After hours of absolute nothingness, on the horizon there cropped up before them a single huge mountain. At its base was the mouth of a vast tunnel, a hundred yards in diameter, a gaping hole into the blackness.

As they neared, their animals began to stomp and resist, and Thor could sense how uneasy they were.

Indra dismounted at the mouth of the tunnel, and the others did the same.

“What about the animals?” Elden asked, coming up beside her.

She shook her head.

“No beast will enter this tunnel,” she answered. “They know better.”

She stood there, holding the reigns and looking up at her animal wistfully. It leaned down with its huge head, made a moaning noise, and rubbed its nose against her neck.

She released the rope and slapped the beast on the back, and it turned and ran off, as the other beasts turned and ran off with him.

Thor turned with the others and watched them go, raising up a cloud of white dust as they faded into the horizon. He gulped. Now they were on their own.

Thor turned and faced the entrance of the tunnel, peering into the blackness. He knew they might not ever come out.

Indra raised a dagger and stepped forward to the wall of the cave and chipped off large pieces of yellow rock. She held one against the wall and smashed it with the butt of her dagger, and it revealed a glowing white core. She handed a rock to each of the men.

Thor held it in his hand, surprised at its weight, a rough yellow rock with a glowing core.

Indra took the first step into the cave, and as she did, Thor was shocked to see the rock cast a glow. It exuded the light of several candles.

“Hold yours high and the tunnel won’t be as dark,” Indra said.

“How long do they last?” O’Connor asked, as they all began to enter the cave.

“I don’t know,” Indra said. “No one’s ever used them long enough to say.”

The dim tunnel echoed with the strange noises of animals and insects, the fluttering of wings, the shrieks and cooing noises of hidden creatures echoing in every direction. They marched and marched, holding their glowing rocks out before them. Thor heard something crunching beneath his feet and as he lowered the rock it cast a light on millions of insects, crawling beneath his feet, crunching beneath his boots. Every once in a while he shook them off, as they tried to crawl up his leg.

Krohn, beside him, snarled at them, and he bent over and snapped at one or tried to catch it between his paws.

Thank god for the glowing rocks, Thor thought; without them it would be like hiking into utter blackness, and Thor was grateful to Indra, as always, as the rocks lit the way. Still, beyond their few foot radius, it was hard to see, and Thor could only wonder what was lurking deep in the corners of this place. He couldn’t help but feel as if he were being watched, as if the creatures, whatever they were, were biding their time. A part of him was glad he couldn’t see it.

They marched on and on, all of them breathing hard from exertion but more so from anxiety. Thor’s legs grew weary, and he wondered when this would ever end.

There came a sudden fluttering of wings, and he felt something brush his face.

“Globas!” Indra screamed. “Get down!”

The cave was suddenly alight with thousands of small creatures glowing in the dark; they looked like bats, but were larger, and their heads were completely aglow in white. There were thousands of them, fluttering their wings in a great cacophony, and descending on them.

Before Thor could even try to dodge them he felt his cheeks get scratched, and he cried out in pain. He drew his sword and slashed frantically at them in every direction, and the others joined in. A few of the bats fell, but more and more scratched his face and neck and hands, and Thor finally gave up and followed Indra’s lead: like her, he dropped and curved into a ball, hugging his knees, his face to the ground. The others followed, dropping beside him.

Thor felt a million claws scratching at the chainmail on his back, on the back of his hair and neck and arms—but he stayed down low, as did Indra, and prayed. For a moment, he felt as if he’d be scratched to death.

There came a sudden roar, echoing off the walls, and the animals suddenly flew off, the flock screeching and flying away.

After several moments, the fluttering of their wings finally faded, the awful flapping leaving Thor’s ears, and he could hear himself think again. He heard himself breathing hard, as were the others, all in a panic. Gradually, they all stood, grateful to be alive.

But the roar rose up again, and Thor felt a pit in his stomach, as the roar sent chill up his spine; it was a deep, dark roar, like a lion.

“What was that?” Reece asked.

“I have no idea,” Indra said.

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t sound happy,” O’Connor said.

The roar came again, louder and closer this time, now sounding like the roar of a lion. They all held their weapons out before them, sweating with fear. Thor felt the blood trickling down his neck and head from the scratches, and as he stood there, it was awful to wait, to stare into the blackness and see nothing.

Thor felt the ground beneath them shake, and he could wait no more. He reached back, placed his glowing rock in his sling, and hurled it as far as he could. It went soaring through the air, sending a blaze of light, illuminating the tunnel. After about fifty yards, finally, it lit up what was approaching.

Thor wished it hadn’t.

Standing there was a huge beast, resembling a lion but three times as tall and as wide, with a trunk that hung down like an elephant’s, but with fangs on either side of it, and a horn in his forehead. It was covered in yellow fur, and it stood on two legs, two huge muscular legs, with two claws for toes. It leaned back, raising its huge biceps, its body muscular, rippling, and it roared again, lifting its trunk and baring its fangs.

“A Cave Monger!” Indra whispered in awe.

“I take it it’s not friendly,” O’Connor said.

Indra shook her head.

“Not very,” she replied.

The Cave Monger roared again, then suddenly charged, sounding like a herd of elephants.

They all stood there, frozen in fear, wondering what to do, when Conven suddenly rushed forward and charged the beast. Conven sprinted right for it, as if hoping to die.

As Conven raised his sword the Cave Monger, moving with deceptive speed, reached around and swiped him, sending him flying across the cave and smashing into the wall. Conven fell, limp, to the cave floor.

The beast ran over to him and raised a claw to finish him off, and Thor jumped into action. He knew there wasn’t time to reach him, but he thought quick; he stepped forward, raised his sword, and threw it. It sailed end over end, crossing the cave and lodging in the monster’s arm.

The Cave Monger shrieked, then turned and set its sights on Thor. It charged and leapt into the air for Thor, aiming for his throat.

As the beast came for him, Thor raised a palm, summoning his energy. A yellow light shot from Thor’s palm, and he was able to stop the beast in midair, right before him. But Thor wasn’t strong enough to stop it from swiping him. It reached out and smacked him across the side of his body, sending Thor flying across the cave and smashing into the other wall.

Krohn charged the beast and sank his fangs into its feet; the beast shrieked, then picked Krohn up high in the air, and opened its mouth to eat him.

O’Connor took aim and fired several arrows into the beast’s open mouth, making it drop Krohn; Elden raised his axe, charged forward, and chopped off one of the beast’s claws. The beast shrieked in rage, picked up O’Connor with one hand, squeezed him, and raise him high. O’Connor hung there, his legs flailing, looking death in the face.

Reece took his flail, swung it high, and impacted the beast’s head, making him drop O’Connor. The beast shrieked and set its sights on Reece. It opened its wide jaws, its fangs protruding, and lowered them for Reece. Thor could see that Reece was about to die.

Thor shook off the tremendous pain in his head, and focused. He had to summon his power. He willed himself to become even stronger than he was. He saw Argon’s face; he saw his mother’s face; then he saw Gwendolyn’s. He felt her energy rushing through his body, supporting him.

Thor stood, raised both palms, and willed for it to work.

A blue light radiated from his palms throughout the cave, and he hit the beast square in the chest. The beast stopped and screamed. Thor raised his arms, and as he did, he was shocked to see that he was managing to actually raise the beast into the air.

The beast screamed, flailing its arms and legs in mid-air. But it was off the ground, and there was nothing it could do.

Thor, in one last burst of effort, swung his arms—and as he did, the beast swung through the air. Thor pulled back his arms and threw them forward, and the beast went flying like a meteor through the cave, screaming, end over end, until finally it smashed into a wall and collapsed. A boulder came rolling down and landed on top of it, crushing it.

All was silent. It was Dead.

The others turned and looked at Thor, with a new look of respect and wonder.

Thor collapsed to his knees, weak from the effort. He was getting stronger, he could feel it. He could also control it more. But he still did not have the stamina he needed. That encounter had drained him. If another beast showed up right now, he would be helpless. He needed to become stronger.

Reece and O’Connor came over, and they each picked Thor up and draped his arms over their shoulders and held him between them as they walked. All of them wounded, stung, hobbled along as the group continued to slowly trek through the cave, into the blackness, and into whatever danger lay ahead.