The climb still continued for some time, and they were starting to get more and more fatigued when they finally reached the top, or the end of the stairs at least. They walked up into another empty room that was vast and, somehow, creepier. They stepped up into the room and looked around; the tourch lights still did not fill the room. "This tower is hugemongous," Silas said, "I wonder how far up we are."
"Furthur up than we're supposed to be," Titus said.
"What do you mean?" Silas said taking a few steps into the darkness.
"I mean it took us a half a day to climb straight down the cliff and we weren't even breathing hard. Now I can't hardly go on."
"We didn't get much sleep last night," Mica said, "There's no way to tell how far up we are. Don't forget that that pillar of stairs was very very big around."
They walked around the vast room and found that it was not as big as the bottom room, but it was still a very considerable size. Silas and Titus began searching for themselves.
"Don't split up," Mica called to them, "This room is not as big, but I have a bad feeling. Let's stay together."
They came back to Mica and looked into the darkness. As they looked the darkness became disturbed very faintly by a white, gray siloutte, but they could not make it out. It was moving slowly very slowly to them ,and only the silouette could be seen; it did not shed any light around it, but it had some kind of glow that made it visible in the dark. As it moved closer they saw a human shaped thing. It was not human, however, it was something else, something more or less. The figure was a corpse, first it was an old bearded man in a faded glimmering robe, when it took a step, the figure would change into another man with armor and a sword; the armor looked faded and rusted. Then it changed into a hooded man with a quiver of arrows and a bow in it's hand. No color could be seen on the image before them. The spectre moved slowly and when the figure change forms, a small shadow of the other forms still lingred in a slight faded light. And every figure looked like a rotting corpse still clinging to life.
It stepped until about ten steps in front of the three explorers and stopped, and stood motionless.
"What is that?" Silas wispered.
Then the figure spoke in a language that none of the three understood, but will be translated for the reader. It spoke loudly and drawn out at first and then the voice faded to normal sounding speech.
"TTTTTTTHHHEEEEYYYY AAAARRREEEE NNNNOOOTTT our descendants. They are not of those who ARE BANISHED."
They could not tell if the fugure was angry or dangerous. They thought it looked hideous and very much like somthing that would be found in this land so far.
"WWWWHHHHAAAAATTTT AAAARRREEEE they doing HERE? AAAAARRRREEE they LOST? CCUURRIOOUS FOOLS perhaps, who think it wise to challenge that which has been condemnded FOR MILLINIA?"
When the figure spoke it sounded like many people speaking and trying to find a unified rhythm. It's voice was very loud, so loud that the three flenched at the soud.
"WWWWWWHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTT SSSSSSHHHHAAAAALLLL we DO? WWWWEEEEE MMMMAAAAYYY not be strong enough. Our strenth has faded over the centuries. Can we stop them if they chose to proceed? Even the physical may affect US NOW. Our power is no longer UNMATCHED."
"Strap! What's it saying?" Titus said.
"It sounds like it's trying to figure us out or it's giving us a warning," Mica replied.
"Can we leave now?" Silas asked meekly.
"That may make aggravate its anger," Titus said.
"I think..." Silas started.
"TTTTHHHHEEEEYYYY DDDDOOOO not speak the old tounge."
The two parties stood observing each other for some time.
"WWWWWWEEEE CCCAAAANNNNOOOOOTTTT risk the reawakening of HHHIIIIRRRRSSSSSTTTTT. WWWWWWEEEE DDDDDDDOOOOO not wish to condemn them if they are innocent, but our seal is weak, and if Hirst is set free, innocence itself will be condemned. WE ATTACK!"
The three knew excactly what the last phrase ment without understanding a word.
"Strap!" Silas exclaimed, "What now?"
"We survive," Mica replied, "Keep your heads."
"Good idea." Titus added.
The figure immediatly seperated into twelve different figures that surrounded the three explorers. All three moved straight into the centre of the room, or at least as close as they could get. The men did not notice that light was begining to shine into the room from the outside. The circle of ghosts moved to keep the men surrounded. The adventures could make out four swordsmen, four priests, and four archers. Every where the men moved the twelve kept them in the very center. The twelve then each raised their wepons and prepared to strike, as they struck, each man dove in seperate directions. Titus was unhurt by whatever the twelve did, but he was still inside the circle, though he dove near the outside next to a swordsman and a priest. Mica was not quick enough and felt a quick sharp pierce in his shoulder that knocked him down and knocked the wind out of him. He had never felt anything so hard. He was punctured by an arrow. Silas did move quickly enough and actually made it out of the circle. He looked up long enough to see the swordsman raise his rusty sword to strike Titus and to see one of the archers next to him raise his bow to strike Mica. Silas immediatly took one of two small knives that he kept hidden in his boot and threw it into the swordsman, and then he immediatly cut at the archer with his sword. The knife stuck into the swordsman, and he felt reistance from his sword as it cut into the archer, but they did not fall dead. They did not continue either. Both figures stood motionless as if halted in time and did not continue with the circle. The ten that were left moved to even out the gaps now left and the order that the figures stood changed.
"TTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHEEEEEEE YYYYYYYOOOOOOUUUUNNNNNNNNGGESSSTTT is the quickest, surround HIM." The ten extended the circle to make sure they would include Silas. Silas could still move quicker than the ten, whose power had been weakened over the many years. Silas moved in on another swordsman and jabbed, but when he did the whole circle quickly shifted clockwise to avoid the thrust. A ghost swordsman swug his sword down on top of Silas, but Silas deflected the move. Mica was shot in the thigh by one of the archers and was almost killed by two more arrows, but Titus pulled Mica out of the way. Silas took another jab and the whole circle shifted and the order changed again.
"We can't doge these archers for long," Titus yelled.
"Get to the edge of the circle," Silas yelled, "Swing wide when I swing."
Mica and Titus a little shocked at Silas' sudden assertiveness quickly went to the edge before the archers could draw more arrows, and as soon as Silas took another jab and the circle shifted, and when it did, Mica and Titus' wide swings struck two archers.
Silas quickly drew his only other knife and thrust it at the remaining archer as it drew to strike him. The knife stuck the archer in the forehead. The formation changed and the other eight shifted to fill the gaps.
"Now come together!" Silas yelled. The three adventurers came together to defend from the swordsmen. Mica limped to keep up with the two youngsters.
"What do the priestly looking ghosts do?" Titus said.
"I don't want to find out." Mica said.
"WWWWWEEEEEEE AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRREEEEEEE not able to match them," the eight called out in near unison,"WWWWWWWWWEEEEEE AAAAAAAAAARRRREEEEEEE fading and we CANNOT RETAIN. WE HAVVE no power. TTTHHHHHEE SSSSSEEEEEEAAALLLL is in danger!"
"It's planning something," Titus said, "Be ready."
The circle inclosed quickly at once, two on Silas and one on Mica and one on Titus. Mica and Titus stepped out to meet their oppontents and stopped their blows. The other two that singled out Silas tried to trap him. One took a jab to his stomache and the other swung for his head. Silas figured something like that would happen and deflected the jab while kneeling to dodge the swing. When Titus had deflected his opponent's blow he gave the swordsman a kick to the stomach. When he did his foot went strait through the figure. He pulled his foot out and the figure was immediately frozen.
"Gross," Titus said.
"OOOOOUUUUURRRR KKKKKKKNNNOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLLEEEDDDDGGEE and wisdom in battle has faded with our power. Even with superior numbers we cannot STOP THEM."
Silas had rolled on the floor and away from his attackers so he could retain his focus. Mica was busy with a barrage of swings from his attacker until Titus put a knife straight into it's back from behind. Mica's leg and shoulder was pierced and it hurt him to move, but it was not fatal. Titus immediatly went to assist Silas who stayed a safe distance from his two foes. The circle was now six, the priest could only watch as their formerly empowered warriors fell to the intruders. The battle stradegy and the powers that had been given to the spectre had faded over the thousands of years.
Silas and Titus had to meet their foes head on since the circle was still quick enough to widen if one tried to move to their side. Silas swung at a knight's head and the knight deflected the blow. When the knight tried to counter attack Silas doged and managed to dispatch his foe with three quick swings, which the swordsman could not keep up with. Once dispatched, he immediatly went to the other swordsman who was distracted with Titus and stabbed it through what would have been its heart. They needed only touch the images for them to be taken out of battle. Stabbing them at this point was overkill, but they were in the heat of battle.
They the immediatly turned to the priest, who, to their suprise, did nothing. Except talk to itself.
"TTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEE SSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAALLLL will be broken and all is lost. Innocence will be destroyed. Our sins will be the end of the world. WOE TO US."
"FFEEAARR NNOOTT, our descendants still live, though small, our bloodline has remained pure."
"BBUUTT TTHHEEIIRR knowlege and power has faded over time, just as ours has, just as we desired, so we would not risk such sins again."
"IITT WWASS unwise, but their is still hope, if they are not as we....were...."
"HHHIIIRRRSSSTTT is...weak...tooo... yes....there...may....be....hope...."
Their voices were starting to fade, and the three explorers were puzzled. Was this some spell? They did not know what to do.
"OONNLLYY our descendants have the potential..."
Then all of the ceased figures and the priest came into one just as they had first appeared; then it suprised the three men by falling to its knees before them.
"PPPLLLLEEEAAASSSEEE turn back and never come again....4000 YEARS and this seal has been unbroken TURN BACK."
The men had no idea what the figure had said. When it had finished its final plea the figure grew to a solid white and the faded away without a trace. The three men stared completely shocked.
"What have we done?" Silas asked.
"Huh?" Titus responded. Just then they heard Mica grunt. Titus and Silas looked over to Mica and saw his wounds.
"Strap!" Silas exclaimed.
"It's not that bad," Mica said, "It's just a flesh wound. The arrows that were stuck in me faded with the ghost."
"Hey guys?" Titus said, "How is this room illuminated if we lost our tourches in the fight."
"There's some other light source, " Silas said.
Mica replied, "Something happened when we started fighting. We all dropped our tourches right away because we could see our opponents. Now we can see our surroundings."
"What now?" Silas asked.
They looked up and saw the ceiling above them. A large hole at the center of the circle ceiling let quite a bit of light into the room. And the room grew lighter as the sun rose.
"We have been in this tower a day and a night," Titus said; he then dropped down to lie on the stone floor. All three gathered up to rest in the room and decide what to do next. Silas and Titus soon fell to sleep, and Mica, after nursing his wound to his own satisfaction, got up and walked around to make sure that the room held no more threats. As he did so, he noticed a door on what was the north side of the room, if he could have known the direction. He went back to where the two young men were sleeping on the southern side of the vast room and layed himself down near them and fell asleep. They slept for some time. Actually, almost the rest of the day, and they awoke in late afternoon. Silas rubbed his eyes and looked up.
"How long did we sleep?" He asked to himself.
The other two woke up and looked around to clear their eyes.
"Hey man, I didn't know you had it in you," Titus remarked to Silas.
"I got alot in me if life is on the line," Silas replied getting up.
"You're a survivor," Mica said smiling to himself.
"Strap, I'm hungry," Titus said, "Do we have anything to eat?"
"I have a little of the nasty deer meat. I had some salt and stuff. I have a little bread left to. Here," Silas said giving his pack to Titus.
"What about you?" Titus said reluctanly taking the pack.
"Give me your leftovers."
"How about you Mica?"
"I have a little food left,"Mica said.
"What do we do now?" Silas said looking up at the sky.
"Well, we can go back," Mica said, "Or we can go through that door over there."
The two boys quickly looked to where Mica nodded and saw the door. It was a perfectly plain wooden door with no handles to open it. The wood was in perfect condition because of the the seal that was once on it. They sat and looked at the door, not really wanting to go through, but not wanting to go all the way down the tower with nothing to show for it.
"Soooo, I guess we can just take a peak inside," Silas suggested.
"Yea, once we do, we get the strap out of here and go into hiding. Except for you Silas, you can go back and say me and Mica killed each other..um...arguing...over...deer meat."
"Alright," Silas said. Titus got up and dusted himself off. Mica had a little harder time. They gathered up their things and started toward the door. When they reached the door they just stood there with no desire to continue.
"The image of that ghost keeps popping in my mind," Titus said, "Almost like it was beseeching us."
"You think it had something to do with this door?" Silas said.
"Or something behind the door," Titus replied.
"This building may be more signifigant than the lack of decorations lets on," Mica said.
"Yea, it seems to have only one purpose," Silas said.
"What's that," Titus asked.
"To exist," Silas replied touching the door.
"What?"
"It's just suppose to contain something. Like a building to store something, nothing more."
"Store what? Treasure?" Titus said getting his hopes up just a little.
"My guess is whatever is behind this door," Silas said.
Mica stood listening to the dialouge between Titus and Silas and then spoke, "Back away and let's hurry and find out, and then we can leave if it's nothing that interests us."
The young men stepped away from the door, and Mica swung at it with his ax. The wood offered some resistance, but Mica continued until he made a hole that they could grab and pull. All three got their hands in the hole and pulled with all their might but could not budge the door. Mica stooped down to see through the hole.
"Oh my mother!" he exclaimed.
He backed away and let the other two look. They withdrew in horror and surprise.
"What in the world?" they said.
Mica continued heaving with the ax until the door was in pieces. They walked through in awe. The room was a circle room with windows all around and twelve men standing around the room; the same twelve that they had just fought, though not decayed now at all. They all were frozen in time and varied in ages, and all stood pointing to the center of the room. The young adventures looked to where the twelve pointed. In the center of the room was a man whose face looked hideously angry. He wore a robe, black with crimson sleeves and gold bordering. He stood frozen in time as well as if he were resisting a mighty wind. Behind him was what looked like an alter. The gaze of the twelve were fixed on the man in the black robe with unwavering intensity. The twelve looked as if they could fall apart at any instant, while the black and crimson robed man looked as if he could come to life at any instant.
"This is what they were pleading," Silas said.
"What on the continent happened here?" Mica said.
"I think they were trying to defend this," Silas said.
"What is it? That man in the middle looks very very angry," Titus said.
Titus walked up to the man.
"Titus, I have a bad feeling about that guy. Get away from him," Silas urged.
"No kidding, look at his face," Titus said studying the man. The black robed man's face looked deformed by the angery expression, as if he had worn it for so long it had become his face. Mica walked up to one of the twelve that held the man in center in place and examined him. As he did he came too close and touched part of the clothing on the arm of the figure and the figure crumbled before him. Mica staggered back in suprise. "What did you do?" Titus said turning around.
"I just barely touched him," Mica replied.
"That's it. I'm done with this room guys," Silas said, "I'll wait outside for you two."
Silas walked outside to the steps and waited for Mica and Titus, who were still enthralled with the room. They continued looking at each figure wondering who they were and just how long they had been there.
"Who do you suppose they are?" Titus asked Mica.
"I don't know. Some look like knights and some look like archers or something and the others look like educated men," Mica replied carefully observing each.
"Hey," Titus said, "Mica, did you notice the eyes of the knightly looking statues or what ever?"
"They're completely black."
"Just like the boy and his parents in the village of the Outcastes," Titus said still staring intently, "Are they connected?"
"Evedently so," Mica replied.
"Maybe this is a memorial to their once flourishing land," Titus said, "Maybe that is what the ghost wanted, for us to not disturb their only memory of their life. And you've already put one statue in ashes."
"It was an accident," Mica said, "I'm not so sure that's what this is anyway. How many ghosts have you fought that were defending a memorial? How many ghosts have you fought period?"
"Do you have a better explination?" Titus asked, "Look it's simple. The man in the middle represents the greed and hatred that tore them apart. The men on the outside represent their coming together to fight this evil, but they could not stop it before it devestated their lands. A lesson Prince Surel and King Lures could both learn."
Mica just looked at Titus with sarcasm and dissapointment. "Cute interpretation," Mica answered, "Real feel good and half baked. But I wouldn't put my money on it."
"You don't know. I can make up whatever I like," Titus said. He walked from the man in the center over to a knight on the outside and touched it and it crumbled.
"What are you doing?" Mica cried.
"They're just statues," Titus said, "Memories."
"Titus, don't be disrespectful," Mica chided,"These have been here for centuries and we've already ruined two."
"I agree," Silas said. Titus and Mica looked to the door where Silas had stopped and refused to enter. "While we and generations past were so encapsulated with our lives up there in the North, down here these figures stood, here, fulfilling faithfully whatever duty they were assigned to do. And here we are, discharging our arrogance. Just like we do with each other, just like we do with the Outcastes."
"What's gotten into you?" Titus asked.
"This place. I've just been doing a lot of thinking since we set out on this mission," Silas replied, "This land is not only cursed, it's forbidden, even by it's own nature. I say let's go right now."
"Strap!" Titus said in disbelief, "We've been on this journey for eight months and I've never heard you like this."
"I know what I know," Silas said turning toward the stairs.
"He's right," Mica said, "Our buiseness here is done. Whatever the Prince is looking for, this place doesn't have it."
"All right," Titus conceded.
"I think a better question is what has gotten into you?" Silas said to Titus.
As Titus walked toward the door he looked at the robed man. Titus noticed that the man looked more life like than when they first entered. Titus could not figure out how that could be, but he could not take his eyes off the man.
"Let's go," Silas urged, "This place gives me the creeps more than ever."
"I don't like this figure at all," Titus said, "Look at his face. I am kind of scared of it."
"Me too, let's go," Silas continued.
Titus whipped out his sword.
"What are you doing?" Mica called.
"If I touch it will it crumble like the rest? This land has paid its dues, it shouldn't have to house this ugly looking thing."
Titus reached and touched the very edge of the man's garment.
"Whoa," Titus exclaimed.
"Get away!" Silas yelled. Mica ran to get Titus out of the way but he stopped immediatly when Titus began to turn into a white light. Titus looked at Mica and Silas with horror, surprise and sadness realizing too late the error of his ways. Titus tried to yell as he turned a full white and then faded, just as the ghost figures had done. The ten figures that surrounded the man all crumbled and when they did the man in the center moved, and stood up straight.
"Disgusting creature," he said, "How dare he touch me with his filthy hands." He chuckled. "Now the world is purged of him." His voice was gritty and empty sounding.
Mica and Titus were stunned and very scared. The man looked at them.
"Ahh, creatures. I wonder how much of my power has been lost," he said.
The two men could not understand him. He spoke in another language that, once again, they had never heard. The man began to walk toward Silas and Mica.
"Mica, I don't think we're going to survive this," Silas said.
Mica and Silas began to back up.
"They fear me just as they should," the man said, "They don't even know my name."
As the two backed up Mica spoke to Silas, "Silas listen to me."
"Yea," Silas replied.
"I'm going to stay and fight. You have to run and find a way back to North Kingdom and warn everyone," Mica commanded.
"What? I can't leave you to die," Silas said.
"Fool, what will it serve if both of us die and this thing comes at the world unawares. Go!" Mica gave Silas a shove toward the stairs and then charged the man. Mica came down strong on the man's head, which did not give in anyway. Mica was horrified. The man reached to touch Mica but Mica moved. Silas reached the stairs, but could not help looking longfully at Mica being left with that thing.
"Go!," Mica shouted to him, and Silas rushed down the stairs.
"My power has faded some," the man said, "This man would not be a problem if it were not for time. Not that he is a danger to me now."
The man did find Mica somewhat hard to get. Mica moved quickly enough and the man still had not completely recovered from the 4000 year time freeze, though he was making a faster recovery than most. They fought for a few hours until the man finally managed to move fast enough to simply touch Mica. Mica stopped and immediatly began to wither. He looked at his hands with disbelief. He then lifted his ax to attempt one last blow, but the extremly fast aging would not let him. He dropped his ax and fell dead with old age.
Hirst stood over Mica's body with all the pride and vendictiveness he had, along with his permantly angry face, with his eyebrows constantly sloped toward his nose and wrinkles that formed between his nose and two eyebrows, and the wrinkles that had formed on his forehead. His thoughts then turned to Silas who was not quite half way down the very long stair case. Hirst laughed to himself, "The land I have created will do my will." The reader might as well know that Hirst, for as long as he had lived and all the power he had gained, was still human. He made mistakes though most of the time they had been inconsequential in comparison to his power. Hirst then went to the room with the altar and set his hands on it and waited.
On his way down the stairs Silas began to think of when they were walking up only a day before and all the conversations they had. He thought of all the hopes and ideas and then the caution. The curse that had begun only a few days ago for them had suddenly and swiftly become a full nightmare.
Silas continued down, several times he almost turned back, not wanting to leave but to finish himself here. He was begining to tire. After hours and hours of climbing down, he finally reached the bottom. he could not go a step furthur; he had to rest. With fear and trembling, he sat down and took out what little food was left of the adventure. He ate quickly all the while watching the stairs ready to run. Just as he finished his food, he heard a hideous noise, but not inside, it was outside. Silas ran outside and looked up. It was dark, and he saw a bright light as bright as their sun except white. Silas closed and covered his eyes. The whole sky, forest, everything was lit up even brighter than day, and Silas felt a sudden burst of heat that cause him to nearly pass out. It passed, and Silas's eyes began to readjust to the darkness, what little adjusting they could do. Silas looked at the decaying forest, which had lost non of the fear that could evoke. He could not shake his memories, his fear and his overwhelming sadness. He tried hard to repress what had just happened to continue and not give up.
"I have to make it," Silas said, "What the strap is happening?"
