Tired Of Death

"So, you're telling me that the woman with Dreth is some kind of host for a super-powerful malevolent spirit? Is that it?" King Harold sat on a rock opposite near wizards and scratched his chin. 

"A Lord of Hell, one of the hells to be precise, but otherwise that's right." Harvey nodded. He was sitting on some rubble, consciously not looking at the necromancer nearby.

"And in return for my help capturing this woman, you'll share the power with me when you capture the devil, which will occur during a moment of vulnerability during this, this possession procedure?"

"A portion of the power." McVon raised a finger. "Which will still be quite significant, I can assure you."

"And where do you come into this thing again?" Harold turned to the thin figure sat on another boulder nearby. 

The necromancer waved a hand. "The Overlord summoned me to deal with Dreth, nothing more, nothing less. I have no interest in getting involved with the Coming of the Four. This idiot's foolish quest is his own." 

"So, you two are here on unrelated missions, and yet you seem to have had a little… squabble." The King of Real raised an eyebrow. 

His men had come across the Extremely Dark necromancer shortly after they had arrived on the scene of what had obviously been an extremely vicious magical battle. The wizard of death appeared to be untouched, but Wilbur, Harold's court wizard, said that in fact he was hurting, and badly weakened on the magical plane. Apparently the two mages had fought each other to a standstill.

"Pah, it was nothing," McVon said. "I decided he wasn't worth the effort."

"I never made an effort in the first place," the necromancer spat back.

"Now now gentlemen," Harold said, waving a finger. "Let's not get excited. It seems to me that Dreth tricked you into fighting. Rather a simple ploy to fall for wasn't it?"

Both wizards muttered something under their breath.

"I think that we can all help each other here." Harold stood up. "Together we can defeat Dreth, capture the girl and have a happy ever after ending. For us I mean." He looked at the wizards. "What do you say?"

~ * ~

"Right. Any other smart asses want to try their luck?" Dreth, holding his dripping black blade, stared around at the walls. There was a distinct lack of movement from them. So much so that it could almost be inferred that any creatures hidden therein were keeping very still so as not to attract attention.

"Good, because I've been through too much rubbish to be stopped by some… some… What were they anyway?" He peered down at the remains that were scattered around the ground. Some of them were scattered quite far.

"I think they were Ankhegs," said Sissy, the tall thin witch apprentice, peering at a piece of chitin near her foot. "We use their eyes in the old 'sleep for a hundred years' spell."

"What's an Ankheg?" asked Emerald.

"A kind of armoured Blasmonger," the wart nose witch apprentice explained. Her name was Rose, which was a constant source of amus.e.m.e.nt to the other witches.

"Oh. Well, that clears that up then," Emerald said, rolling her eyes.

The Ankhegs, creatures resembling very large and extremely angry warrior c.o.c.kroaches, had swarmed out of a number of hidden holes and attacked them as they had reached an open space in the maze of walls. 

Dreth had felt a surge of anger course through him from Darkblood, and had, before he had barely registered it himself, hacked half of the creatures into small pieces. The remaining monsters had retreated under the onslaught, scuttling back into their camouflaged lairs. 

"Good," Dreth said, as nothing answered his challenge. He wiped the sword clean of green gunk and sheathed it. "That's what I thought. See to it I don't have to get angry again."

"You wouldn't like him when he's angry," Percy added.

"They know that already idiot," whispered Cuthbert, elbowing his fellow zombie in the c.h.e.s.t.

"Come on then," said Dreth. "He waved them forward.

"Which way?" Tybalt asked, pointing at the five different exits out of the clearing.

"That one," said Dreth, pointing at the one on the left. 

"How are you navigating, exactly?" Cuthbert said, puzzled. "You seem very sure of yourself all of a sudden."

"I…" Dreth paused. "I'm not sure. I know it is that one though. Come on, enough dilly dallying." He started walking over to gap in the rock he'd indicated, stepping over bits of Ankheg as he did so.

"Who's dilly dallying?" asked Percy. He hurried to catch up to Dreth. "Do you think these things are tasty?"

"If you want to hang around and sample them, be my guest," Dreth said, intent on the way forward. "I'm not waiting."

They followed as he stalked forward, into the opening, which led down another narrow canyon of blasted orange rock. Ahead and above them the dark mountain loomed, with the citadel perched on top of it like an overweight stone giant surveying his domain.

"Do you think He knows we're coming?" the Seer asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"It's quite likely," said Belladonna, the final witch apprentice. "If he has your experience, no doubt he's using that to see what we're going to do too. It's quite clever really."

"Well, that's encouraging," Emerald said. "Maybe there's a waiting area we could hang around in whilst Dreth goes and has a chat then."

"Ooh, good one," Sissy cackled. 

"Your laugh is coming on really well," Percy said.

"Thank you dearie," she answered.

"I'm sure I wouldn't co-operate with the Overlord," muttered the Seer youth. 

"You may not have any choice," said Frumble. "Hello, I'm guessing we're going the right way."

They all stopped and examined the entrance to the large cave that led inside the mountain. It was dark, looming and overall highly ominous. Skulls were carved around the edge in rough yet effective fashion. Unhygienic looking stains splattered the edges.

"Cool entrance," Percy said. He nudged Sprat. "Isn't that cool Sprat?"

"Yes Uncle Percy," the little zombie replied, eyes wide as he took the sight in.

"Bah, all show," Sissy said dismissively, straightening her pointy hat. "Purely for tourists."

"Well, you'd know about show wouldn't you?" Rose sniped. 

Dreth shook his head. "Come on, let's see who's in." He advanced, crossing over the threshold into the gloomy bowls of the mountain.

"Just like home," Percy said after a little while.

The interior was dark and damp, with corridors hewn through the granite. The dripping of water echoed in a lonely fashion somewhere, underlining the silence of the interior. Behind them the dull light from outside had quickly faded, and now only a torch retrieved from Dreth's bag, and a couple of magical lights Frumble had conjured up, illuminated the scene. Of course, Dreth and the zombies were quite at home in the dark.

"There's a crossroads ahead," Cuthbert said. He looked at Dreth.

"Er, left," Dreth indicated, but he wasn't certain.

They went left, then right, then right and left and left again and soon they were totally lost. 

"We're totally lost," said Belladonna, crossing her pudgy arms.

"It's a maze," said Tybalt.

"Oh, you're quick on the mark, I can see that," Rose said.

"Listen, witch…" Tybalt's reply was interrupted by a loud m.o.a.n that rolled over them.

"What was that?" Percy asked. "Hello? Anyone there?"

"Of course there's someone there," Cuthbert replied cheerfully. "Probably a fearsome guardian, eh Dreth? Just like old times." 

"It would follow the pattern," Dreth replied, tapping his sword and trying to figure out where the sound had come from. 

"Tuuuurn back!" A mysterious voice boomed out, echoing around them.

"To the left I think," Sissy said.

"No, the right," Belladonna indicated a turning just ahead.

"Turrrrn baaaack and liiiive!" 

"What if we aren't alive?" Percy called back.

"Turn back and er…" The voice paused slightly, before making a game effort to get back on track. "Turn baaaack!"

"Yes, right." Dreth pulled Darkblood from its scabbard with a cold scraping, the sword gleamed with a black light, and they set off forward at a trot.

"This is your laaaast waaarning!"

"We heard you the first time," Dreth said, speeding up as he homed in on the source of the sound.

"You aaare dooooomed! Doooomed I say!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, we've heard it all before," Cuthbert muttered as they took a sharp left.

"Soooo beee it! You shaaaaall perish! Fleeee now!"

They turned another corner, and the passage opened up into a sizeable square area. Ahead, towering above them in the gloom, was the giant form of a fearsome beast. 

The body rose at least three times the height of Dreth, from the shiny cloven hooves, up around the bulging legs covered with brown hair, on past the impressively muscular torso, to the bulls head, complete with horns that glittered in the low light.

An axe twice the size of a man's shield was held in its arms.

"Gaze upon your doooom!" the Minotaur bellowed.