"Are you joking right now old man?" Pike looked around. "Where's this bloody door supposed to be?"

"Use your head before you start complaining," snapped Ruadh. "It's a door leading into ancient tunnels built a buy a race of mysterious beings. So of course it would be bloody hard to find."

Myra looked to the lengthening shadows. "It will be sunset soon, we've taken too long…"

"I'm sure we'll find the door faster if we look for it instead of talking about time passing." Ruadh was deeply regretting his chosen companions. It had taken them longer than he would have liked to reach the valley, two hours to find the proper path that would lead them down into it, and now it looked like they would be searching for the gate well into the next day. It didn't help that Ruadh would have been killed by a mountain-lion had not Pike stepped in. Pike had complained bitterly when the others would not let him cook the creature.

The sun had nearly disappeared behind the mountains when suddenly Ruadh called out the others. Pike and Myra found the old Ranger pointing triumphantly at a large, moss covered boulder.

"Aha! I knew it would still be here."

"What? A big rock?" asked Myra.

"Leave him alone Myra," said Pike. He looked at her and tapped his forehead. "The old age will do that to a man's brain."

"Don't be daft," Ruadh bent over and brushed away some moss and fallen leaves over the stone. "See? This one has the shape of a man's face."

Pike and Myra cocked their heads, trying to make it out.

"Really? I think it looks more like an otter" said Myra.

"I think it's a dog," said Pike. "The one's with the squished up faces."

Ruadh ignored them, practically bounding to the cliff side and tapping the stone wall with his staff, muttering to himself. At last, he stopped and pressed one ear against the stone while he tapped it. Satisfied he stepped back and looked at his companions triumphantly. He set aside his staff and rolled up his sleeves.

"Step back, young ones." He laid his hand flat against the wall and pushed slightly. As he did, a section of stone gave way before his touch, the outline of the door appearing where there was none before. Ruadh stepped back as the hidden door continued to swing inwards, seemingly of its own accord. Pike and Myra were stunned into silence.

"Impossible," said Myra. "But that was just blank stone a moment before."

Ruadh chuckled. "Dwarves are good at their work."

"How'd you do that?" asked Pike, a little nervous. "Did you just do some kind of magic?"

"Me? Of course not. Dwarven gates are warded by spells which respond to chosen passwords and phrases."

"But you didn't say anything," said Myra.

"Because I already gave it the password last I came here. Of course the spell would remember me."

The door came to a shuddering stop, revealing nothing but the impenetrable darkness within. Pike's hand instinctively touched his sword-hilt. The feeling of unease the mountains had induced in him steadily rising. Ruadh, energised by his discovery, fished into his tunic and brought forth a small stone or crystal, which hung about his neck on a string.

"I always knew this would come in handy again some day," he said, affixing the crystal to the tip of his staff. "Come on then you two, time to get a move on."

"But, shouldn't we make a torch first?" said Myra. "We can't just stumble around in the dark."

Ruadh shook his head with a smirk. Without another word, he entered the tunnel and disappeared from sight. Myra was about to protest, but quickly hurried in after him. Pike only stood there, staring anxiously at the yawning portal. He heard movement in the trees behind. He whirled, eyes wide in fear. But it was only a squirrel dashing along the branches.

"Pike! Come on!" Myra's voiced echoed from the darkness. Pike cursed and, loosening his sword in its sheathe, forced himself to walk through the door.

Pike blinked. Instead of the utter darkness which he had seen from outside, the large, spacious tunnel was lit with a soft, pale light. Myra was looking around in awe, at a strange crystal jutting from the roof above. Ruadh was simply standing there, looking pleased with himself as if all of this was of his doing. A similar light seemed to emanate from the tip of his staff.

"Pretty, isn't it?" the Ranger said. "I don't know how it all works, but the Dwarves were clearly masters at capturing light in those odd crystals. They don't always glow like that, but in the presence of these…" He tapped the stone wedged in his staff. "The two different kinds will greet each other and give off light. Very handy. But enough of that," Ruadh turned on his heels. "We'll start by navigating our way back into parts beneath the mountain where we lost Erasmus."

The others hurried after him. "He's seems fairly spirited," Myra muttered to Pike. "Maybe this place isn't all that dangerous…"

"Above or below," said Pike, "there are some things in these mountains that I'd rather not run into."

Myra looked at him in surprise. Was the dreaded Manhunter… afraid of something? But he said nothing more, and the two followed Ruadh deeper into the mountains in tense silence.

As they ventured deeper into the tunnel, the overhanging crystal gradually dimmed the further they left it behind, while another crystal further ahead grew brighter as they approached. On and on they walked, only stopping when Ruadh found a fork in the path while he considered the route to take. He seemed to know the place well enough, and could apparently tell north from south even below the earth. Occasionally, they would encounter strange images carved into the walls, which Ruadh would stop and study, reading the runes in the stone.

"Yes… yes. Very good. Most everything is where I remember it being. We are now within the mountain. Now we just have to find some stairs and work our way up." They continued on, but Pike halted suddenly, staring down into a side passage which Ruadh had passed.

“Pike? What is it?” asked Myra.

Pike pointed down the hallway. “Down there, I smell… blood…” Ruadh and Myra looked at each-other questioningly, but followed Pike, who held his sword at the ready.

Eventually, they found a large room, supported by stone columns. The sickening smell of old blood nearly choked them all as they entered, pools of it spread across the floor. Cautiously, they moved onward. Strewn across the floor were mangled bodies, brutally torn apart. Gore was everywhere. Myra doubled over and vomited. Even Pike went pale at the sickening smell.

“Great Song…” Ruadh gasped. “What could have done this…”

“I’d rather not know,” said Pike. Carefully stepping over the blood and viscera, Pike inspected the bodies. After a while, he returned to the others, holding a bundle of cloth in his hand.

“I guess these are your dwarf-friends Ruadh.”

“And Erasmus…” Myra could hardly hide the fear in her voice.

Pike tossed her the bundle. It was Erasmus’ cloak, stained with blood. “He was here at least,” Pike said. “But there’s no other sign of him.”

“Then… whatever happened here… he might have escaped it.”

“Maybe…” Pike was silent a for moment. “These… dwarves. They weren’t killed by weapons. Most of them have the marks of claws… and teeth.”

“This is worse than I feared,” said Ruadh. “Dwarves we could have dealt with, but this…”

Pike moved passed them. “Let’s get a move on already. We’ve got to keep looking for some sign of the Paladin. If he’s been wounded, then we need to hurry. We’ll find some kind of trail…”

Pike soon found a few drops of blood which disappeared through a door in the far side of the chamber. They passed through and came out into a massive hallway. There were none of the strange crystals, but the hall was illuminated by beams of light which filtered through portals high up on the wall to their right. The hall was lined with many mighty pillars which rose up into the darkness of the roof.

“Now this is something else…” whispered Myra.

“Aye,” said Ruadh, “It seems we’re getting close to some great mansion…”

“Who knew that all this could have been under our very feet this whole…” Myra cried in alarm suddenly. Pike and Ruadh whirled on the spot to see Myra in the grip of a shadowy figure, her arms pinned behind her back. Pike lunged forward, sending the figure flying with a punch. Suddenly, more figures appeared from out of the shadows behind the pillars. Before they knew it, the trio were surrounded by an army of angry looking Dwarves, armed to the teeth with spears and axes and swords. With weapons poised, Pike, Myra and Ruadh stood back to back as the Dwarves slowly pressed in around them.

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“Noble sons of Rune!” cried Ruadh. “We are but travellers… come in search of our compan…”

“Kill the intruders!” roared one of the Dwarves. “They’ve killed the King! Don’t let them escape!”

“No! We did no such thing! There’s been a mistake!” Ruadh yelled desperately.

“They don’t seem to want to listen, old man,” hissed Pike. “You better think of something fast…”

Ruadh didn’t answer, only tightening his grip on his staff. “I say again, there’s been a mistake! Some kind of monster has slain your kinsmen, and we are but searching for our friend who was falsely taken by your people.”

But the Dwarves didn’t respond. They edged closer, holding weapons at the ready and preparing to spring upon the three intruders.

“You two… close your eyes” Ruadh hissed to the others.

“What…?” said Myra.

“If you value your eyesight, just do it and be ready to run.” They did so and Ruadh lifted up his staff. “Very well then… if you wish to slay us, come and try.”

As one, the Dwarves rushed forward. Ruadh brought the tip of his staff crashing down to the stone floor. And the crystal upon it exploded, its light filling up the entire hall. The Dwarves stumbled, blinded by the sudden light.

“Run!” Ruadh dashed forward, knocking aside blinded Dwarves with his staff while Pike and Myra followed. “There! To that door!”

The trio were halfway down the hall when the Dwarves began to gather themselves, their blindness fading as they hurried to give chase. As the companions approached the door, three Dwarves appeared from behind to to block their way, roaring their battle cries.

Ruadh and Myra skidded to a halt, but Pike dashed passed them. He fell upon the Dwarves and cut down the one in the lead with a blow that opened the Dwarf up from shoulder to belly. The other two hesitated, and Pike took off both their heads in a single slash. “Come one!”

They raced down into the dimly lit halls, chased by the howls of rage and the sound of many heavy footfalls echoing after them. Ruadh turned the corner. The others followed. A door opened before them, revealing a set of large stairs winding upward.

“This way!” Ruadh shouted. But as he passed through the door, Myra tripped on a stone and fell heavily. She struggled to rise, but she had hit her head and she could not shake her dizziness. Pike stopped and looked back.

“Are you fucking serious…” He turned and ran back after her. He stooped and lifted Myra to her feet. Ruadh had stopped to look back them. But suddenly, there was a sound as of stone grinding against stone, and the great panels of the door swung closed with a deafening thud, separating Pike and Myra from Ruadh.

Pike cursed and beat the door with his fists. Myra called out Ruadh’s name, but there was no answer. The thunderous echo of their pursuers drew closer. They were now trapped in a narrow hallway with only one exit. Myra grabbed Pike’s arm and began to head for the other end, to try and find some other way out. But it was too late. The other end of the hall was blocked by a line of Dwarves, who howled with savage glee as they saw their prey trapped. They marched forward menacingly.

Myra gripped her sword in shaking hands. “I guess this was expected…” she said. “Don’t suppose you have a pun for this one?” Pike laid a hand on Myra’s shoulder and pulled her back. He stepped forward, staring coldly at the oncoming foes.

“Just stand back.” Pike said. “This is going to get ugly…”

He stood before the line of enemies, his sword hanging idly by his side. It had been a long time, he remembered, that he had been pushed into a corner like this. He would surely be out of practice. It would be a shame if Myra got caught up in the fight. But he had run out of options. He closed his eyes, and opened his mind…

The Dwarves answered their enemy’s bold stand and rushed forward, eager for the kill. But they slowed to a halt, their eyes gone suddenly wide. Myra’s breath caught in her throat. It seemed as if the air had suddenly become heavier, the air colder, the light darker. The tall swordsman raised his sword slowly, aiming it at the stunned Dwarves. He chuckled low in his throat, which seemed almost deafening in the tense silence.

Myra shivered, breaking out in a cold sweat. She remembered this feeling. The feeling of utter hopelessness. The feeling of being hunted by the wolf…

Pike gave an inhuman howl of savage glee, and fell upon his foes like hawk at its prey. In a moment, three of the Dwarves had been cuts down. They were almost helpless before him. He struck all about him, caving in helmets and hewing necks. All the while, Pike’s awful howl echoed off the cold stone. Myra pressed her back against the door, desperately wanting to run away.

The Dwarves soon panicked, and fled from Pike’s rampage. And he hounded them like a fox amongst hens, slashing them down as they ran. Some of them managed to rally, and formed a small line to try and hold Pike back. They charged, and Pike met them gladly.

There was a few long moments of carnage as Myra watch in horrified silence. She would have retched had she anything left in her stomach. It had only been a half a minute, and already the floor was slick with blood and gore.

Pike caved in the skull of his last combatant. He looked desperately for more enemies, but they were all either dead or gone from sight. Still caught up in the rage, he slashed the air and hacked at the slain bodies. The Beast was still calling for blood. Once fully unleashed, it could not easily be brought to heel. With what little control remained to Pike, he tried to push it back. It never worked. The Beast could only be waited out, when his body had exhausted all of its strength. The best he could do was to hold it in place.

Gradually, Pike’s sword became slower. His howl of rage subsiding to pained breathing. His knees began to buckle.

Myra, sword in hand, slowly got to her feet and made a few cautious steps toward him. She didn’t want to approach him, but she knew that he must surely be wounded. No human body could still be intact after such a trial.

“Pike…” she called out quietly as she stepped gingerly amongst the corpses. Slowly, she walked up to him as he just knelt there, silent, still gripping his sword. “Pike…” she reached out a hand and touched his back.

“I would advise you to stand back, young lady…” Myra turned suddenly. Standing there, was a tall shadow. One eye pierced brightly through the shadow of his dark hood. His face was grim and pale. In one hand he held a white staff, one end shaped into a long spearhead. The cloaked figure marched forward steadily, aimed its spear at Pike.

“I don’t know how you survived our last meeting. I would have just ignored you, but I see know that I am left little choice…”

Myra was pushed suddenly aside. Pike, standing on shaky legs, held his sword up and death-stared that mutha fucka. “You…” he growled through bloodied teeth. “You… stole my fucking gold… bastard!” He leapt at the One Eyed Man, his sword a blur. But the cloaked man was faster. The white spear brushed aside the strike effortlessly. Pike struck again, swinging wide. The spear blocked it and redirected the blade. Pike was thrown off balance, and the butt end of the spear struck him in the chest, thrusting him backwards. The One Eyed Man spun the spear, the end smashing up into Pike’s jaw.

Pike was hurled to the floor, coughing up blood. The One Eyed Man strode slowly towards him. “It’s not your fault. We can’t choose our blood. But I can’t let a monster like you go wild as you please. The Voice will only overcome you in the end.”

“Stay away from him!” Myra rushed forward and stood over Pike. Aiming her sword at the cloaked spearman. She could not stop her muscles from shaking.

The One Eyed Man looked at her with a curious expression. “Admirable… but it’s clear you still don’t truly know that man’s nature. This is just a small glimpse into what the Beast can do…”

He took a step, but Myra edged closer, aiming her sword directly at the stranger’s face. She could say nothing, but the fierce, desperate light in her eyes spoke volumes.

The One Eyed Man sighed. “So be it. This will be an honourable death. Even if you don’t know what you are doing…”

He paused. Then, in an instant, the One Eyed Man sprung to the side as a heavy fist came crashing into the floor where he stood. A huge, hideous shape squatted on the floor. A warped giant with scaly, bark like skin. It cackled hideously through its fangs. "I should thank you for coming and sparing me the journey. I've been waiting for you…" It's gleaming, yellow eyes peered up at the man in the black cloak. "Elf-blood…"

Without warning, the beast hurled itself toward the One Eyed Man. The shaft of the white spear was raised in time to block an outstretched claw, the force of the blow cracking the stone floor beneath the fighter's feet, but the One Eyed Man held firm. The Beast's cavernous, fang-filled maw opened wide and lunged at it foes, but the One Eyed Man did some Matrix shit, flinging his head back and dodging the fangs, kicking the Beast in its jaw mid back flip. A white light flash from the spear, and several clawed fingers fell from the monsters hand in a gush of black blood.

The monster licked its blood from its hand and cackled. "Even better… I was afraid we had destroyed all your kind long ago… that there was nothing left to hunt but half-grown brats and Manlings…"

"I'm surprised you monsters can even talk, Bane of the Old World," said the One Eyed Man icily. He raised his spear. "But enough words. Let's get this over with, I have other monsters I'm meant to be killing today."

The monster howled, making even the stone tunnels of that underground world shake. Pike's mind finally cleared, the dreadful sound of the combat banishing the fogginess. While the two… things were locked in battle, Pike shakily grabbed his sword and tried to stand up.

"This is bad… Myra! We've got to…!" he looked around, and saw the outlaw woman already racing away down a dark hallway. "Fuck! Wait for me woman!" Pike stumbled after her.

The One Eyed Man shot a cold stare at him. "I'm not through with you Pike!" But the monster would not allow the cloaked one to give chase.

Myra raced ahead, her mind filled with several voices, all raging to be heard. It was all too much, she had never seen such nightmarish things, never felt such fear. What about Pike? Let him die, a voice in her mind screamed. What about Erasmus? Foolish girl, she had walked into a nest of monsters. What else could she do but run?

The tunnel opened up into an impossibly large cavern. Myra nearly bolted straight off the edge of a sudden precipice and into the black abyss below. Not far from her was a stone bridge, leading over the chasm and to the far side of the cavern. As she was crossing, she looked back and saw Pike stumbling after her, sword still gripped in his fist. In the shadows behind him, she could vaguely make out strange shapes, a gleaming eye and a flashing spear.

Running faster, Myra made it over the bridge and onto the other side, where she stumbled upon the uneven ground and fell heavily. Looking up with foggy vision, she saw Pike make it onto the bridge. He was nearly halfway across, when a shadow from behind him seemed to fly over his head to land on the far side of the bridge. The One Eyed Man stood there before the bridge, between Pike and Myra.

"I will not let you escape again… Changeling. You're story ends here…"

Pike turned to run back the way he came, but there was the monster, lurching onto the bridge and seeming to grow in size with every step, its eyes two pits of yellow flame. Pike looked back and forth in a panic, unable even to call upon the black magic of his fighting trance. The monster surged forward, Pike raised his sword for one last ditch attempt to defend himself. And the One Eyed Man raised his spear.

The spear came crashing down onto the stone bridge like a thunder-bolt. A bright flash, a deafening crack, and the bridge began to crumble and fall away. The stone beneath the monster immediately gave and sent the creature hurtling into the darkness below with a howl or rage. Pike had just enough time to run and leap towards the stone ledge with outstretched hands, he landed heavily against the ledge, trying to cling to the stone with his fingers. Myra only watched as Pike's grip failed. They locked eyes only for a moment, before Pike disappeared over the ledge completely. She hurled herself forward, watching as Pike fell into darkness, and was gone.