Chapter Four:
The Pit Awaits
Leaving the stairwell and polished marble behind, the opulence of the floors above paled in comparison to the lower halls. Embedded into the marble were veins of worked gold and silver. The torch Davien carried reflected light off the gold and silver in the marble which spread the torchlight further, revealing a subtle curve to the hallway. The walls of the hallway, which split to the left and right, were draped liberally with crimson and white silk hanging from massive onyx hands.
The pair walked for some time before finally Jym spoke, “This is strange Davien. Where is this pit?” The spittle that accentuated his last word was accompanied by a few droplets of fresh blood.
“We continue to descend, quicker now than before so I assume we will find this pit before long, and the Fiend they house within it.” As if to emphasize his whispered statement, a long bellow of rage echoed through the hall towards them. “I also assume that means Leira found this Fiend’s codex.”
“Codex? That’s a fancy word for a book. I’m not fond of books. Nothin’ good comes from books and there are alwaysa few more books. Curse your stupid books. We still have to kill it.”
“Yes, Jym. We do have to kill it. At least we can, now that she has this ‘stupid book’, so I’d be reasonably grateful if I were you.” Davien motioned for Jym to stop, suddenly aware they were not alone.
Jym had just felt a change in the stone of the hallway floor as he noticed Davien motioning him to stop. Having the goggles he felt no more fear of the darkness and as such had moved further ahead of the light from Davien’s torch. With his back to the wall as he crept along, always ahead of the light, he felt rather than saw that the smooth stone had changed to something like gravel.
“My friends.” The words were hollow, carried along the hallway from everywhere at once. “Your witch above us has my codex, as you know, I wish to bargain for it. A boon for each of you for her head, no strings attached.” A ripple of deep laughter shook the crimson and white drapes.
Davien could no longer see where his little green friend had gone off to. He could see where the goblin had positioned one of his ‘Daughters’ however so he knew that Jym was somewhere, waiting for a signal from him.
“What would this boon be then? Some foul twisted life, watching in horror for eternity as you butcher my mother? Or a cruel joke then? Your boon to me being the ability to forget? A waste either way then.” Davien wasted no time waiting for a response to his shout, instead illuminating the darkness in a series of punishing waves of icy blue-white light.
To his horror the light revealed the pit was filled to the brim with teeth, small hand and foot bones and the chewed remnants of other larger bones. All the debris in the pit appeared to have been boiled clean and dumped haphazardly. Though no creatures were readily visible, Davien knew the Fiend, whatever it was, must be here. He also noticed two more of the four ‘Daughters’ positioned about the perimeter of the pit, the goblin, their nominal ‘father’ and his ‘Darling’ surely lurked close by.
The blue-white light clung to the bones and teeth, reflecting from them in an eerie pearlescent glow. While Davien watched for signs of the Fiend, Jym shouted a warning to him from somewhere within the shadows around the pit. Davien avoided the lumbering swing of a massive onyx hand by a hair’s breadth. He failed, however, to avoid the silk drapes the hand held and fell in a tangled heap just a few feet from where he had been standing.
“Tell me, vessel, where is your friend?” The Fiend’s bellowed taunt bit Davien deeply. It angered him to know he was just a carrier and pawn for some resident spirit. He kept silent, despite his irritation, as he watched the onyx hands near him begin a slow descent along the wall, further entangling him in silk.
“Well, friend might be a stretch, but I’ve only known him a couple months.” Jym’s voice was much closer than Davien expected, almost on top of him. A moment later the silken bonds were in tatters, the last of the four ‘Daughters’ was wedged cleanly into a small crack in the marble and the goblin remained unseen.
As Davien quickly stood, a noise arose from within the pit as thousands of bones and teeth began to sink below the edges. As more of the pieces sank the noise increased until at last the clattering, sliding sound of bone on bone became a single noise overwhelming all others. In an instant the noise abruptly ended, the pit was still and the air had an odor. Stagnant water and slime.
“Found you!” The voice of the Fiend was no longer all around Davien; it was in the pit. A head, the size of a large horse’s head, popped briefly above the bones and shot a massive tongue into the shadows. With a loud whoosh and a slurp the Fiend retracted its tongue and dropped below the surface.
“Jym!” Davien yelled as he sprinted quickly to the edge of the pit, the bones on the surface undulated, indicating water beneath. A moment later as he watched the slow surface ripples cross the pit, one of the ‘Daughters’ dislodged itself from the edge and shot into the water. Davien was unexpectedly blasted away from the edge, back into the hallway, as the Fiend exploded from the water in a torrent of bones, blood and water.
Bellowing with rage the Fiend, a frog demon, clawed at its shredded intestines and then inside itself for a moment. Finding what it sought, the Fiend angrily flung the cackling Jym back into the darkness from which he had been snatched. A crash and clatter of steel, followed by a shout of frustration, was all that alluded to the goblin’s new location. “Fool! Your stupid knives cannot kill me!” To emphasize the statement it bared its now healing gut and gullet.
Davien could hear his mentor urging him to flash freeze the foul creature. He could also feel the raging headache from the icy light. “No,” He whispered this quietly to himself, knowing full well that his mentor could hear him whether he spoke or not, and drew a gleaming, lovingly cared for pistol. With no need to aim, the frog demon was immense and had begun charging towards where Davien had been blown to on its exit from the pit, he quickly raised the pistol and fired.
A deafening roar filled the air as a flash of fire burst from the barrel of the pistol, aptly named ‘The Loudest Lady’, and drew another shriek of rage from the charging Fiend as the bullet found a bulbous thigh. Davien quickly retreated, in a crablike fashion as he regained his footing, further along the curving hallway, avoiding or destroying onyx hands as they animated and ponderously reached for him. The frog demon, prevented from using his powerful legs to propel him up and forward, plodded along seemingly enjoying the chase.
Davien caught sight of one of the ‘Daughters’ tearing free from the marble floor of the hallway and hovering briefly before sinking itself neatly to the hilt in the same thigh he had just shot. The Fiend collapsed for a moment, giving Davien additional time to retreat and plan, before pulling the blade from its leg. The bullet wound, nearly closed, opened again from the rough treatment, began bleeding briefly as the demon watched in amusement. “Flesh and bone! You are flesh, bone; food! Nothing more than meat, mortal. I have enjoyed our game and have grown hungry from the chase.” As the demon finished its taunt it opened its mouth and released a stream of superheated liquid in the direction Davien had traveled.