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Flickering torches set high on the walls lit a long, dark passage. I made my way through the shadows, following the clang of iron picks against stone, the groans of exhausted villagers, the curses of their guards.
Ahead, the passage split into two branches. I took the left.
I counted eleven villagers toiling away, removing a pile of rocks at the end of the passage about fifty feet from me. Two burly guards prodded them to work faster while another stood guard over six more half-sitting, half-lying on the ground nearby, slumped wearily against the jagged stone wall. It was clear the captives were being worked to the point of exhaustion.
“We been diggin’ here for days now, Ben, and haven’t seen hide nor hair of gold or jewels. D’ya think there’s really a temple full of treasure at the end of one of the passages inside this cave?” asked one of the men guarding the workers.
“I seen it with my own eyes,” declared the one stationed by the prisoners at rest. “Our Master showed it to me.”
“Yeah, in a vision,” grumbled the third man.
“Shut yer mouth,” Ben snarled. “Our Master promised all who follow him a better life, filled with power and glory. No more scrabbling in the fields under the hot sun, no more shoveling shit from the barn. All we need to do is uncover the hidden temple. It’s somewhere in this cavern. He says the entrance was buried centuries ago by a rockslide.”
“Well we’re runnin’ outa villagers,” the first man shot back. “And I don’t intend ta take their place. I didn’t leave home and join up with the Dark One to break my back haulin’ rocks. So far, there ain’t been no sign of riches. And guarding this crew of half-dead slaves day and night don’t make me feel powerful.”
I’d heard it before, in every battalion I’d ever fought with. Men who signed on expecting excitement and glory grew weary from days and weeks of marching and training or disillusioned by the reality of war. Some of them left before battle ever began. Others who made it through their first bloody skirmish disappeared into the night afterward, unable to stomach the sheer horror of seeing their comrades fall all around them. Such men were not born to become warriors.
And neither were these guards.
One after the other, I took out them out. It was simple. Boredom and lethargy had made them careless. I surprised Ben, the one loyal to his dark master, by sneaking up behind him, the way I did Hando, and slitting his throat. By the time the other two saw me, I’d charged the first one head-on, slashing him with my sword while he was still frozen in shock by my sudden appearance.
The last guard put up a proper fight. But he was no match for my skills.
I used techniques I’d learned from the greatest warriors who ever lived. Brave men long dead before I was born. I’d fought by their sides countless times. An unknown ally, I appeared in the heat of battle. Sent rocketing back in time, tossed into the chaos by the oracle’s magic. To learn – or die.
In truth, I don’t know whether she’d have rescued me if I was ever in danger of losing my life. It never came to that. I was strong, and I was fast, and I was smart. I’d slayed many a man the same way I slayed the final guard. Watching eyes widen in shock when I buried my blade to the hilt in his chest, then grow dull as I slowly pulled it out and life drained from his body along with the blood.
The villagers shrank away from me in fear.
“It’s all right,” I said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
I chose one of the women digging in the rubble to lead them. Unlike the others, she stared straight at me, gripping her pickaxe like a weapon. Painfully thin, middle-aged, straggly hair showing wisps of gray. But she had steel in her eyes.
“I’m a friend, sent by the queen. I’m here to help you,” I told her. “To set you all free. You know these people. They trust you. Get them out. There are no guards between here and the mouth of the cave. Go silently, one by one, single file. When you’re outside, head down the mountain as fast as you can. Don’t stop. Don’t look back.”
She shook her head. “There are other prisoners. I won’t go without them.”
That’s when I knew I’d chosen well. Females had a stronger will to live than males. It was something I’d learned long ago. Perhaps it was a trait built into them by the Goddess. Those with the ability to create and nurture life inside their own bodies valued it most. She’d done whatever it took to survive for weeks in captivity, and now she was willing to give up a chance at freedom if it meant leaving anyone else to suffer and die here. This woman would automatically put the strongest to work helping the weaker ones make it down the mountain. She’d cajole and praise those who needed it like a nurturing mother, bitch and nag at others if that’s what it took to galvanize them into action.
“How many?”
“Fifteen more in the other passage. All that’s left of our village.” Her voice was flat. Behind the steel, I saw pain in her eyes. “They done away with the rest of us. Kilt my eldest first, when he tried to protect one of the young girls from this monster.” She made the old sign to ward off evil then spat on the body of the guard lying at her feet.
“Your son was a man of honor.” I bowed my head in respect. “I’m sorry for your loss, ma’am,” I said softly. “May I ask your name?”
She stared at me as if she didn’t understand the question. I’d seen that behavior before – souls so deadened by abuse they didn’t know how to react when someone showed them common courtesy. Treated them with a little dignity.
The other prisoners hadn’t spoken or moved a muscle. They watched our exchange, eyes flicking back and forth between us, wide with fear.
“Rianne.” She said it as though it was a question then threw her shoulders back and repeated it more firmly. “My name is Rianne.”
“Rianne, I am Magnus the Warrior. I have been sent with the blessing of the Goddess to do battle with the Lord of Darkness for control of our world. Can you tell me what treasure he seeks here?”
“A stone. A magical stone. They say it will give him power to move mountains and shift the very earth beneath our feet.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t found the sacred object yet.
“You must go now. I promise I will free the others. Head down the mountain path to where the forest begins then hide in the trees and wait for them to come to you.”
