The Isle of Terror: Part 3

We gathered at the entrance to the tunnel system. A decision was made to mark the secret door and do another sweep of the island. Now that a demonic presence was discovered in the tunnels, it seemed prudent to double-check for other entryways so that we don’t run into any trouble on the way back. For this second round, we split into two teams – Annabel in one, Gorchin in the other – and focused more heavily on looking for magical anomalies. We found nothing, rested overnight, and started properly exploring in the morning.

Our group was organized with the two non-combattants and the sappers in the middle, and the rest in front and back. I took the point. Of the Treasure Hunters, Iocasta was in the front group, too. She kept herself busy with directing our movements, sketching a map whenever possible, and marking corridors we passed through with chalk.

“Strange”, commented Civet while touching one of the walls, “It’s way too uneven to be man-made, but doesn’t seem natural either, especially with the way the corridors are laid out”.

The tunnels were, indeed, strangely evenly-sized and arranged in a mazelike fashion that felt nonetheless as if there was some purpose behind it. After an indeterminate period spent wandering the monotonous corridors, we finally discovered a small side-cavern that looked like a room. In a corner, there was an old wooden chest, covered in a thick layer of fine dust. We inspected it and found it was unlocked. Opening it, we discovered it was filled to the brim with books. Gorchin quickly pushed everyone aside and started rummaging through them.

“This is a veritable treasure trove!” he shouted excitedly, “Look at this! First edition of The Fundamentals of the Art of Enchantment by Polibius! Volume 10 of Abu-Haqqim’s On Communitacion with and Control of Various Magical Beings and Assorted Spirits, widely thought to be lost! The oft-banned Perilous Power of the Occult by Septimentar! Even if we take this and go home, I say, the trip would be worth it. Not like anyone in Manea can properly understand works such as these, of course, but if someone half-smart is ever born, he will be very thankful for our efforts. I only wonder, what kind of man would be so foolish as to leave all this behind?”

“One who found something even more powerful”, remarked Civet ominously, “If the legend is true, Arthacyros discovered a source of power and knowledge that made the most elusive grimoires look like mere trifles”.

It was an obvious conclusion, of course. Aside from becoming more centralized under Arthacyros, the Sorcerous League’s magical practices had become more powerful and elaborate since he came into power, and they were drinking from a well of knowledge other lands were unfamiliar with. Their sorcery made them nigh unbeatable for a time, and only a combination of factors – the League’s simultaneous advancement north and west spreadigng their forces thin, getting help from Al-Teina and other allies, the logistical trouble of sending armies overseas – allowed Manea to survive. Only the rapid advancement in firearm technology and Shina’s timely secession in the east led to the tides eventually turning. The source of power that turned the loose confederation that was the Sorcerous League into a unified, expansionist, nigh-unstoppable empire could be somewhere below our feet.

We retraced our steps, taking the book stash out of the caves, and then continued with our exploration of the corridors. A large, eerily symmetrical round hall, tall enough that our lanterns couldn’t illuminate the ceiling, was the only break from monotony. The room had four exits positioned at regular intervals. No matter how hard we looked, there seemed to be nothing interesting there, so we took the first passage to our right and continued on.

By that time, in spite of the subtle feeling of background dread, our focus was beginning to slip due to the excessive monotony. We were suddenly and violently brought back to full alert by a sudden whoosh, followed by a thud. Turning quickly around, we saw the man in the rear lying on the ground, dying; a sharp piece of rock was stuck through his neck.

Annabel tried to apply first aid, but the man was beyond saving, and he perished in seconds. Civet was, meanwhile, frantically looking around for the source of the attack.

“There is this small crevice, it must have come from there”, he announced, confused, “but there seems to be no mechanism controlling it”.

“Demons are dwelling here”, responded Gorchin, who had suddenly grown pale, “This was not a simple trap, but a deliberate attack. How stupid of me! I expected a frontal attack, but they will pick us off one by one. We stand no chance! Let us leave while we still can – if we still can!”

“This was always a possibility”, Iocasta said grimly, “We came here well aware we could die. It is too early to give up yet”.

“Suit yourself”, Gorchin was already beginning to walk back, “But I’m not getting one step deeper into this hellhole. You can all get yourselves killed for all I care, but I have new grimoires to study. I can’t afford – nay, Manea can’t afford to lose me here”.

He was stomping off furiously. Iocasta seemed unsure of how to react to this behavior, so I addressed her:

“We should follow him. Unpleasant as he is, I’d rather not have to deal with him getting lost. Besides, we should get Sami’s body outside and figure out how to deal with traps such as this one without slowing our progress too much. We can always continue tomorrow”.

“You’re right”, she nodded, “I was hoping to get this wrapped up today, but it was not to be. This place gives me the creeps. Come on, we’re moving out!”

For the second time, we found ourselves retracing our steps, this time on the lookout for anything that could make us join poor Sami. Our path took us back to the circular room.

While we were crossing it, a sound of flapping wings came from our left, and out of the corridor we arrived from initially appeared a group of five flying creatures. They looked like a round lump of flesh, with bat-like wings, a pair of small arms, and a long tail ending in a bone spike. No eyes, or other sensory organs for that matter, could be seen on their bodies. Immediately, we pulled out our guns and opened fire.

“We’re doomed! There is no escape!” Gorchin flew into complete panic and began running away, into the opposite direction from where the monsters were pouring in, deeper into the caves.

“Professor, wait!” shouted Civet and rallied two of the soldiers to run after him. They disappeared into the darkness. The monsters were upon us by that moment, and we were too busy fighting them off to follow suit. We had to deal with the onslaught quickly, before our comrades got hopelessly lost.