Ancient Tales

Another week came and went as the guild continued to do everything in its power to prepare for the invasion. Tom was working down in the basement with Herbert and Harold on some ideas for weapons when Derek came running into the workspace.

"What's up, man?" Tom asked, seeing the look on Derek's face.

"We found something on the patrols. I think you need to see this," Derek said with a grim look on his face.

Tom stood from the stool he had been sitting on and followed Derek back to the lobby. He saw that Jay, Michael, Kevin, Kirsten, Kiera, Bron, James, and his whole team were there waiting for them.

"What's this? Why bring so many people?" Tom asked.

"We have to travel to the site. What they found couldn't be brought back here," Derek explained.

"This better be important. You know we are working on the invasion preparations," Tom said.

"I wouldn't have taken you away if it wasn't. Come on, let's get some vehicles and head out."

"We have something big enough to take Bron? I don't just summon him anymore."

"He should fit in the trunk of the GS2. Stop delaying; we need to move," Derek said, turning toward the parking garage.

After loading into the vehicles, the team was out and, on the road, driving through the city. Tom became impatient and couldn't help but ask again about their destination.

"Look, I didn't want to say anything in front of the others until we were sure of what was found," Derek began. "We had some of the defense teams out scouring the area for monsters to ensure we were keeping the immediate area clear when they stumbled on something. One of their members fell into a crack in the pavement when the street gave way."

"Are they alright?" Tom asked, suddenly worried.

"They are fine now. The fall did break some bones, but they had a cleric with them. But that's not the point. What is important is what they found when they made it down to him. There is some kind of statue there. It's difficult to explain a lot more until we get there." Derek said.

Tom felt uneasy in the pit of his stomach. He didn't ask anything further, though, and simply watched the road as they wound through the streets of Dallas. When they finally reached their destination, Tom saw a huge hole in the middle of the road.

"I feel something," Tom said, leaning forward in his seat, trying to see what was in the hold before even getting out of the vehicle.

"That's why we needed to be here. Something is going on that we just can't explain," Derek replied.

Tom practically leaped from the GS2, running toward the gaping maw in the ground. Stopping at the lip of the opening, he looked down into the darkness.

Turning to look at the others, he felt fear come over his face. "I have to go down there. I hear it calling."

"Wait, Tom. That may not be a good idea," Derek pleaded.

But Tom didn't wait. He jumped down into the hole. Landing hard at the bottom, Tom rolled to the side. His ankle sent sharp pains up his leg, causing him to cry out.

"Tom?!" Derek called down.

"I'm alright, but I hurt my ankle. Maybe don't try jumping down."

"You fucking idiot. I even told you the guy that fell got hurt."

"Yeah, sorry. I thought he got hurt from not being ready or that maybe my Constitution would be better."

"Hang on, we'll be down in a minute."

After retrieving some rope and securing it to the front of the GS2, the rest of the teams lowered themselves down carefully. When they had all made their way to the bottom, Derek scolded Tom for his stupidity.

"What kind of a moronic move was that? I thought we talked about you being careful since you're the leader?"

"I know, I know. I couldn't help it though. And I can heal myself. But something here is calling to me. Can't you hear that?" Tom asked.

Derek paused, listening intently for any sounds, "No. I hear nothing."

"I can't understand what it's saying, but it's speaking to me. It's like a whisper in my head," Tom explained.

Tom closed his eyes and focused on the voice again. It whispered lightly inside his head, the voice sultry and harsh at the same time. It beckoned him. He still couldn't understand the language it spoke, but its call was like a siren's song to his mind.

"That way," Tom pointed down a rocky tunnel that seemed to slope downward even further into the earth.

He began walking in the direction he felt the pull, and the others had no choice but to follow him. The tunnel was nearly completely dark. Stone that seemed to have been roughly carved lined the walls of the tunnel and dripped with water in certain places as they continued. A glow from the far end of the tunnel was the only light that guided them to their destination.

As they neared the end, the tunnel began to widen significantly until it opened into a huge cavern. The walls and ceiling of the area were also roughly hewn, and the floor had a giant magic circle carved into it. In the center of the magic circle sat a statue on a pedestal made completely of stone. An intricate-looking angel with wings splayed wide and a greatsword pointed at the tunnel stared back at them, a visage of contempt on its perfect face.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

It was dressed in a suit of armor as though ready for battle, its helmet held in its left hand. Runes were carved on the pedestal it stood on in a language none of them could read.

"What exactly are we looking at here?" Jay asked.

"I have no idea, but I'm not sure I like the look of it," Derek said, cautiously approaching the statue.

"It looks so lifelike. As though it could just come to life and leap off the pedestal," Tom stared in awe at the details and the pose.

"So, why are we actually here, Derek? You wanted to show us a statue instead of preparing for the invasion?" Kiera asked, putting a hand on her hip, showing her annoyance.

"No. There's something about this that is...I don't know how to explain it, but we are supposed to be here," Derek said, struggling to put into words his feelings.

"Well, you're doing a bang-up job explaining it to us," Kiera replied sarcastically. "Fine, say we are supposed to be here. What exactly do we do now? Bring the statue with us?"

"No, that's not possible. We likely wouldn't be able to get it out of the tunnel. Look at how narrow that is compared to the wingspan," Derek pointed at the statue.

"So, how did it get here?" Tom asked.

"Maybe it was carved here?" Derek offered.

"Or it was alive and trapped here," Bron said.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"It could be something that was trapped here the gods know how many years ago. Magic has always existed, whether your planet had it before or not," Bron said.

"That's a scary thought. This thing being alive and capable of who knows what," Derek said, looking back at the statue.

"I know who we can ask," Tom said, moving to the edge of the magic circle on the floor and beginning to draw his own.

Twenty minutes later, Tom had completed his circle and began his incantation. The circle lit up, and the image of Azroc appeared in a window that opened within it.

"Hey there, shithead. And you have your friends there as well. What can I help with?" Azroc said.

Tom moved out of the way and pointed to the statue, "Ever seen anything like that?"

Azroc stared behind him at the statue, and his eyes went wide, "Hang on, I'll be right there."

The window closed, and the light of the circle grew brighter until Azroc popped into existence in the middle of the circle.

"What, no rising out in a pose?" Tom asked.

"That's just for show. This is some real shit here," Azroc said, none of the usual amusement on his face. "How did you find this?"

"Someone from the guild kind of fell into it. We just followed the path from the surface," Tom said, pointing back to the tunnel.

"Ajax," Azroc growled the name out as he looked angrily at the statue.

"I'm sorry, you know what this is?" Tom asked, feeling his heart sink at Azroc's reaction.

"Yeah, I know this dickwad. He used to be a patron for warlocks. Thought he was better than everyone else. That he could dispense his version of justice as he saw fit. The gods struck him down from his position and made him a greater summon. He was furious," Azroc explained.

"Can't say I exactly blame him, but what does that mean for us?" Tom asked.

"Well, he went on a rampage by controlling weaker-willed warlocks. He used his powers to control them into giving him free reign to take his revenge. The patrons gathered together to kill him. We would have, too, if he hadn't had some kind of trump card to play. He bound almost all of us for a time, so we couldn't intervene. Remember those rules I said you can't break, or the System punishes you?"

Tom nodded.

"He found a loophole in one that kept us from interfering. But one Warlock was able to bring his patron into the fight. I lost track of what happened to them when the battle started. We had no idea where he went. The patron was named Sylvanna. She was a good friend of mine. I've never heard from her again. We assumed she and Ajax just fucking killed each other. Now I see she was able to trap him. Probably cost her her life," Azroc snarled again at the statue.

"And now we have the statue. Great. So, there's some kind of immensely powerful creature here that could wreak havoc on our planet, AND we are about to be invaded," Tom sighed heavily.

"I think we can find a way around that now. This happened millennia ago, so I have a few new tricks. Plus, if he was imprisoned here, he should have been massively weakened.'

"So, you can kill him?" Tom asked.

"I mean, I could...but I have a better idea," Azroc smiled maliciously.

"Like what?"

"Something that will teach this rancid old cum stain the error of his ways while helping you with your little invasion problem. Two birds with one stone, if you will."

"I do like the sound of that," Tom replied.

"Tell me, would you be willing to do whatever it takes to save your planet?" Azroc turned to Tom and asked.

"Yes," Tom said without hesitation.

"Now, maybe we should hear what the plan is before we just go off agreeing to things, Tom," Derek said, trying to interrupt the conversation.

"Shut up, dickwad. This doesn't concern you," Azroc said, glaring at Derek.

"I really think..." Derek began before Azroc lifted a single finger, and he was frozen in place.

"I said this doesn't concern you," Azroc growled.

"Did you have to..." Tom began.

"He's fine. Just frozen in place so he can't interfere. Now, you say you're ready to do whatever it takes, but I have a story to tell you first. So, listen well to the tale. Then you can tell me if you are still willing to do whatever it takes.”