Chapter 12 pathways into darkness...
The dark keep’s dark interior loomed before us as we slowly crept in, I blinked my eyes a few times allowing them to focus in the dark. I can not actually see in the dark, more like I can see in less light than a human. As such I was in the front, using the dim light of the magic crystals my companions carried with them to see as far ahead as possible. I wouldn't be much help if I stood in the circle of light, seeing as that would reduce my sight to the circle of light that I was in. Up here in the front, however, I could see quite some distance into the keep, and they could see me easily due to the fact my fur was so light colored, even if I was about 20 feet in front of them.
The interior of the keep was just as messed up as the outside, with splintered and broken furniture and torn tapestries that had at one point in time decorated the walls, making the cold stone more inviting. Now however it was just more disturbing, like seeing a skull bleached clean in the sun versus seeing a skull that still had rotting flesh on it, one was decidedly more disturbing than the other…
This lower entrance of the keep was wide open, with arched ceilings that were at one point had been designed to be inviting, now, however, the fact that the ceiling disappeared into the darkness overhead was disturbing and I had to force myself to not glance up. Slowly I crept forward over the dirty stone floor, my claws retracted to prevent the clacking sound they normally made when walking on a hard surface, pads spread so that they were coming down softer, making no noise.
I could hear my companions coming up behind me, each one of them attempting to be as quiet as possible, but none of them coming even close, in fact, I didn't know why I was even trying to sneak, the way their echoing footsteps sounded I was almost positive that every creature in this place had heard us…
At the end of the foyer was a circular room, this had likely once been a reception area, where guests were greeted and showed to where they needed to go. In fact in front of me was three different directions…
I stood there, fidgeting as I waited for Harland and the rest to catch up.
“What is it Rin?” he whispered, causing me to wince. Whispering was bad when you whisper you pitch your voice lower naturally, making it so that it is actually easier to hear then if you had just spoken softly…
“She sees three entrances,” I hooked a thumb and pointed at them over my shoulder. “One seems to have lots of traffic if the mud and dirt is anything to guess by, as does the middle one, but she thinks we should first check the one that has the least foot traffic...”
“I can't see shit,” he says squinting his eyes to look into the dark to make out anything. “Three sets of tracks huh?” he asked, eyes narrowed in thought. “I wonder,” he reached into a pouch and pulled out the map we had been given, holding it up to the crystal’s light to read it. “Which of these is the most traveled Rin?” he asked, looking at me, I sidled over and pointed at the doorway on the right side.
Which unfortunately was the way we needed to go to get to where Mrs. Brandmount had written the last known location of the chest we had been tasked with retrieving…
“Ok everyone,” Harland thought for a second. “Tam, you and Rin go make sure there is nothing nasty in those two rooms, and then come join us here,” he gestured to the way we needed to go. “Don't want anything bad coming down behind us...” Nodding I looked over at Tamerian who gripped his staff and also nodded. He turned off his light crystal, snuffing the small amount of mana needed to operate the device and crouched down, his hand snaking out to grab me on the shoulder. Quietly we crept forward across the ground, each step slow and methodical as we made our way towards the first room on the left.
There was a thick layer of dust here like it had not been disturbed in years, which might have been true, or it could have been a trap. Ash that has been ground up fine can be spread and looks much like accumulated dust after all…
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I lead the blind Tam behind me, making sure my eyes were wide and the ears on my head were on swivel…
A scent entered my nose, one that I really disliked.
The sour scent of unwashed body…
Pausing I tapped him on the leg, I didn't have to say anything, he simply nodded and began chanting something under his breath, and before long he tapped me back indicating his readiness. Once again we started creeping forward, soon we reached the stone wall to the right side of the arched doorway. Carefully I pushed the door open and peeked inside…
The scene inside caused me to stop short.
Like the goblins outside these ones were all dead, each and every one of them killed the exact same way, all of their necks broken, heads twisted almost completely around like that of an owl. The room itself was a mess, with splinters of wood and several cotton and fur tick that looked like they would have been used for sleeping. In the room was a small fire that had a stockpile of sticks that were likely used to make the ash that they used to make it seem like this room saw no foot traffic...
“Light,” I said and he did as asked, once again bringing up the light, further illuminating the room. “She does not like this...” I say as I examined the bloodless massacre. Tam breathed in as the light played over the room and the corpses his eyes adjusting to the sudden blaze of light. Slowly he walked forward, his right hand out as he started casting a spell.
I don't know what spell, seeing as most magic is not flashy, unlike the mages themselves it is an understated art, with the mage chanting or simply making a movement and then something happening. Most people can see the magic, seeing as the mana is a part of everything. From what my sister described to me she can see the arcane energy as the mage casts like a fine gold line that is woven and hangs in the air around the caster. I, however, was literally a cripple in that matter, seeing as since I had ripped my soul apart and pieced it back together I couldn't even see the magic, let alone use it...
“Whoever came before us have a very good Coven witch,” Tamerian said, looking at the bodies, “One well versed in Voodoo magic,” he said, and mimed a twisting motion with his hands, simulating the motion of a witch twisting the neck.
“Voodoo?” I ask, my ability to know things from my past life is annoying because most of the time it doesn't work at all, and I have no ability to force it…
“Voodoo is a type of magic practiced by coven witches, one of the types of magic passed down from mother to daughter, it typically involves a doll that they use to affect people, normally each doll is crafted with something from the victim, making it has a connection between the doll and the victim, the issue, however, is in general combat that does not work, seeing as it is hard to get a lock of hair or something as someone is attempting to kill you, but the best Voodoo witches don't need anything like that, they have a will so powerful they can simply picture the doll as the victim. After the connection is created any action done on the doll is also done on the target of the spell.” Tamerian once again mimed the twisting motion.
“She thinks this is important, Rin thinks we need to consider that we might not get the chest if this witch is as powerful as you say”
“Yeah, let's go tell Harland...” nodding I lead the two of us back to the others.
“Well?” he asked as we reentered the light ring cast by the crystals they held, I had to close my eyes for a second as the muscles in my eyes contracted to reduce the light entering and blinding me, after a few blinks to clear the spots in my eyes I looked over at Harland and Alaina.
“The group of adventurer’s that came in front of us have a Coven witch, one that is really really good with Voodoo...” Tam said, filling him in, his face was grim, set in a scowl, if these other adventurers get to the chest first then it was theirs, and we would never see the money from completing the contract, and they had a good three-hour start on us.
“Damnit, that is not good, she is only dealing with goblins, if she is even halfway decent then she will have no issue going through them all with ease, meaning we will not get paid...” he glanced at the stairway into darkness that he was standing next to, you could almost see the gears turning in his head as he pondered and weighed up the options, we had spent a lot of time and money getting the supplies needed to get to the keep, and thus far we had yet to even encounter a single enemy, I still felt it might be not the wisest decision to push on, but I was not the leader of our little group, meaning it was not my place to say, that was Harland’s decision...
The chest was supposed to be down there…
“We are going to have to move quick...” he said, making up his mind, turning and raising one hand holding the light and the other holding his ax he descended the stairs, taking them two at a time, leaving the rest of us standing at the top of the stairs.
I really had a bad feeling about this...