Dark Storm Rising (Shadow Over Shandahar Book 1)

A shower of dust and debris rained down and the torches guttered. Just as the flames died, the tunnel behind them collapsed.

“Time to go!” Dartanyen shouted.

Zorg gave Adrianna a gentle push as Dartanyen took her arm. She could hardly see, but she vaguely made out a steep stairwell leading into the pit. In single file, the group hastily descended into the black maw. Just as Zorg’s head cleared the floor of the tunnel above, the spikes loosened from their rusty prison and crashed down. Zorg fell the remainder of the way down the stairs in a shower of rock and splintered wood. He landed with a massive thud, grunting with the impact. Armond and Dartanyen moved aside the rubble and the big man groaned when they helped pull him up. Meanwhile, Bussi bent to retrieve something from the floor and held it before him. It was one of the torches. An ember deep inside continued to burn but was swiftly receding. Bussi blew gently on it and hissed to himself when it wouldn't ignite. He was about to throw it down when she rushed forward.

“No wait, I can help!” Adrianna reached for the torch.

Bussi frowned and handed it to her. “There's nothin' ya can do. 'Tis gone.”

She shook her head. “I can bring it back.” She cleared her mind and began to concentrate. She briefly wondered at the wisdom of what she was about to do, for she would be revealing her Talent to a bunch of men she hardly knew. But the light was important; none of them had the ability to see well enough through darkness as deep as this.

Adrianna drew a simple runic symbol in the air and whispered the words of magic. It was an easy spell, one that wouldn't make her tired, and it was immensely useful. Within moments the dying ember swiftly grew, and the torch burst into flame. She then handed it back to the halfen. Bussi said nothing, just gave her an appreciative nod. Dartanyen, Armond and Zorg joined them. The men glanced speculatively at the torch, and then at Adrianna. She made no comment, and neither did they.

It was quickly realized that they weren't yet at ground level but standing on a wide landing. Bussi led the way to another staircase and they descended in silence. Armond was scuffed and bruised, but otherwise appeared to be fine. Zorg was a bit shaken but, he too, seemed to be well enough.

Finally, they reached the bottom of the stairwell and came across the other torch lying at the bottom amid a pile of debris. They lit it and found themselves in a wide corridor that stretched several farlo across. They continued onward into darkness, away from the beacon that Dartanyen lit at the base of the stairwell with a third torch Zorg had found in his pack.

They walked. It felt like they walked for days, although Adrianna was sure it was just a few hours. They finally reached the end of the tunnel where it emptied into a huge cavern. She felt a slight chill ripple up her spine as they moved into it. There was something about the place, something that made her feel nervous and edgy. She heard Bussimot mumbling behind her, something about the substrate upon which they had been walking and that it “jus’ wadn’t right”.

The group didn’t have long to walk before they saw something in the darkness ahead. Within moments a necropolis came into view, the pale tombstones ghostly apparitions in the darkness. They slowly walked around the place, a paranoid Bussimot constantly looking over his shoulder. Adrianna shivered. It was cold and creepy in the cemetery, a place where she felt they trespassed. The stones were eerie in the flickering torchlight and the shadows jumped out at them with every step. A large mausoleum arose from the center and the group made their way over to it. The building had a set of double doors, each one bearing the head of a kyrrean with a ring in its mouth. Armond, Dartanyen and Zorg felt around on the doors and discussed opening them while Bussi continued to look into the surrounding darkness.

It was then a prickle crept up Adrianna's arms. She looked at Bussi and her breath caught in her throat when she saw his eyes widen with terror.

“By the gods,” he croaked.

She heard a sound that reached within to stop her beating heart, an eerie moan emanating from multiple throats in the nearby distance. A stench of rot permeated the air and the hairs on her arms rose. Bussi gave a brief shout and broke from the group to run towards the sound. Zorg spun around and was about to join him when, within the dim light cast by Bussi's torch, creatures of nightmarish proportions were illuminated in sharp relief, oozing out of the darkness. Zombie-like, they shuffled their feet as they walked. They were stooped, their arms hanging loosely at their sides, and decaying flesh hung from white bones. Many of them wore the remains of dark robes.

Bussi stopped abruptly before the advancing horde, then swiftly turned and ran back towards the group. Fearfully, everyone just stood there, not knowing what to do. The mausoleum was at their backs, and the route from where they had come was flooding with the dead. While deciding whether to stay and make a stand, or to flee and give wide berth about the progressing horde, the undead priests advanced until there was no choice left. Their small escape route was blocked.

It wasn’t long before the undead were upon them.

In horror, Adrianna watched the battle unfold. Much to her intense relief and gratitude, the men formed a barrier between her and the advancing menace. Swords drawn, Zorg, Dartanyen, Bussi, and Armond pushed forward to meet an enemy they had no idea how to kill, an enemy that severely outnumbered them. Armond was struck down almost immediately, and it was belatedly realized he'd been more affected by his fall than he had let on.

Adrianna squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out the frightening images. I need to concentrate if I want to aid my comrades! Finally, she calmed enough to incant the words to her spell, extract the component she needed from her pouch, and make the motions necessary for its casting. She then held her hands out before her, thumbs touching, fingers spread. A wide arc of crackling fire leaped from her fingertips. It swept between Dartanyen and Bussi and struck one of the shuffling corpses. The thing erupted into flame and made no sound as it burned to a crisp.

The men recoiled when they saw the magic, but quickly recovered. If they didn't realize what I was before when I brought back the torch flame, they certainly do now. Adrianna wavered on her feet and she put a hand to her head. Casting sometimes made her feel drained, especially after a more powerful spell. How can I protect myself if I'm tired already? Damn my weakness; these men need me!

The horde pressed into the group. Dartanyen managed to pull Armond out of reach before leaping back into the fray. In fascination, Adrianna watched the undead priests hacked to pieces. No blood. Then she saw Zorg stumble and fall. Fear gripped her anew. Now only Bussi and Dartanyen remain. Only two of the men are left to keep these monsters at bay.

Fearfully, Adrianna once more considered her options. The undead priests crowded nearer as they pressed Dartanyen and Bussi back. The men increased their efforts as desperation overcame them. For a moment she considered running, hiding behind the mausoleum at her back. But then she saw Zorg in the distance, his life’s blood staining the ground beneath him. Oh gods... Her mind whirled and she steeled herself for what she was about to do.

Adrianna ran from the mausoleum towards Zorg. Out from behind the protection of Dartanyen and Bussi she made a wide berth between herself and the continuing battle, making her way towards the unmoving body on the ground left behind as the undead sought to destroy the two remaining combatants. Once reaching him, she dropped to her knees before Zorg. Looking about to be sure that she remained unnoticed, she unsheathed her dagger and quickly cut strips from his tunic. She bound the wound at his shoulder and then moved to his thigh. Her breath caught in her throat as she desperately placed her hand on top of the gaping wound. This one was much deeper, and she felt the warmth of his blood as it spilled from between her fingers. She swiftly cut another strip of cloth from his tunic, this one much wider, and wrapped it tightly about the gash, followed by two or three more strips until she felt confident it would hold. The entire time she dressed his wounds, Zorg neither moved nor made any sound.

Finally, Adrianna looked up from her work. She frowned; it was her first field dressing and it was sorely lacking. Without anymore delay, she stood and rushed to Armond’s side a few farlo away. He had lain there for quite some time without attention, his face deathly pale and the wound in his side sticky with congealing blood. In the distance, Dartanyen and Bussi continued to fight and it was easy to see they were quickly tiring. However, they continued their efforts to try and keep the battle away from her and the injured men to whom she tended.

Adrianna sliced through the length of Armond's tunic, fully exposing his injury. Then, just like she did for Zorg, she cut thick strips from it. As quickly as possible, she wrapped the lengths of fabric about Armond’s ribs. The blood flowed anew from the wound as she moved his body to complete her work. She hissed when she saw the damage she had wrought, yet she continued and bound him as tightly as she could manage. During her mini-strations, she sensed the battle creeping closer, but she dared not take the time to glance away from her task.

Her hands shook with the strain of continuing despite her fear, but finally she was finished. Adrianna wiped her bloody hands over her skirt and looked up just in time to brace herself...

One of the undead had made it through Dartanyen and Bussi's resistance.

A clawed hand sliced through the flesh of the arm she threw up in defense. She cried out and fell back, but before the creature could make another move, Dartanyen was there. He slashed at it mercilessly until it fell and then dismembered it.

Adrianna breathed deeply, blood running warm and thick down to her elbow, the frayed edges of her sleeve slowly absorbing it. Dartanyen finished off the corpse and turned towards her, offering a hand to help her up. Suddenly it was there, appearing behind him seemingly out of nowhere. Dartanyen went down, the force of the monster's blow too much for his weary body to take. A shrill battle cry pierced the air. Bussimot charged towards the creature, battle-axe swinging wildly. Adrianna scrambled backward out of the way and looked about. The number of undead priests still standing had decreased significantly, but it wasn’t enough. It was one against six, and the halfen was already riddled with battle wounds.

But then something abruptly changed. Bussimot seemed to explode into a frenzy of movement. He hacked and slashed with no apparent direction, at a speed that was phenomenal. He seemed larger than life, wild with rage. It was then Adrianna realized she was in eminent danger, and not just from the undead.

Bussi was a berserker, and as such, would slash at anything whilst in a rage, friend or foe.

Adrianna heard a frantic shout in the distance to her left. She was about to turn, but from out of the shadows before her loomed one of the undead, one she hadn't realized lurked so close. It lurched towards her and she suddenly felt something hard connect with the top of her head.

Oh gods...

The crazed axe-wielder was the last thing she saw as her mind swirled into oblivion.