The Caverns of Kronos

The Old Mines - Part 2

     Thomas looked back, expecting to see the light vanish as their pursuers chose another tunnel to search, but to his horror he saw that it was closer, and that it was clearly illuminating four burly guards running confidently towards them, burning torches in one hand and drawn swords in the other. “They’ve found us!” he said in alarm. “They’re coming!”

     “Impossible!” Matthew replied, but when he looked around he cursed to see that it was true. “Drass! Idiots! Why did we stop here, where they could see our light?"

"Time for recriminations later," said Shaun. "Draw your sword!”

     The two soldiers stood side by side with their swords drawn, trying to block the tunnel and protect the others behind them, and then the Konnens were upon them and they both found themselves facing two expert swordsmen eager to win praise and a sizeable reward from Lord Basil for killing them.

     Matthew was hard pressed and was quickly pushed back towards Diana and the three powerless wizards. Fighting two opponents at once, though, Thomas thought he was doing well just to stay alive. Matthew came across as a clown sometimes, the wizard reflected, but the fact was that he was a damned good swordsman. Even better when you considered that he was dressed only in a thin, silken bathrobe which had to be making him feel horribly exposed and vulnerable. Thomas drew his dagger and waited for an opportunity to play his part in the battle.

     Then there was a sudden bellow of wild, desperate fury and the wizard stared at each of the Konnens in turn, wanting to know which of them had uttered it. It was a cry that could only have been uttered by someone that had been driven to the edge of sanity by some unimaginable tragedy and Thomas could only pity the person who'd endured it, even if it was an enemy who was trying to kill them. None of the Konnens looked to be in a state of fury, though. Instead they were staring at Shaun in astonishment and backing away as if in sudden doubt, and when the cry of rage and grief came again the wizard was horrified to see that it came from Shaun.

     "You bastards!" The woodsman screamed, and he hurled himself at the Konnens with no apparent thought for his own safety. The Konnens backed away again, glancing uncertainly at each other, but their indecision proved fatal as one of them lost his head, lopped from his shoulders by the first swipe of the jeweled, gold traceried sword. The other soldier facing him was taken aback by the fury of the attack, and that hesitation proved fatal as he was chopped like a side of beef from shoulder to navel.

     The two remaining Konnen soldiers regrouped to face the berserk fighter, and were immediately forced into the defensive as Shaun went crazy among them, hacking and slashing with no thought for defence or his own safety. Ordinarily he would have been committing suicide as one would have moved to attack him from behind, but Matthew had recovered from his initial shock by then and fought beside him, disabling a third soldier with a deep cut across his stomach, his sword finding a lucky gap below his breastplate.

     The last soldier stared in shocked horror as his companion gushed blood, and then his eyes fixed on Shaun's sword as if he recognised it. "Oh you fool!" he cried. "What have you done?"

     He turned to flee, running back down the tunnel, and Shaun jumped, throwing his arms around the soldier's legs in a rugby tackle. The soldier kicked madly, crying out for help. His boot caught the side of Shaun’s head and the Tharian let go, allowing the man to scramble back to his feet.

     Shaun and Matthew started to chase after him, but then Shaun saw that the one injured by Matthew was still alive and was using the wall to pull himself back to his feet. Shaun threw himself at him, throwing him back to the floor, and then he pulled himself up into a kneeling position astride the man's chest. He drew the knife from the other man's belt and thrust it down into his throat.

     "He's getting away!" cried Jerry, pointing to where the fourth Konnen was running away, back down the tunnel.

     Thomas grabbed Shaun's bow, discarded and dropped to the floor when the fight started, and fitted an arrow to it, bringing it up to eye level and sighting along it. "I've never used a bow before!" he protested. "Anyway, Matt's after him."

     "He's not going to catch him," the nome replied. "It's down to you. If he gets away, he'll lead the others right to us!"

     Thomas aimed at the departing Konnen. "Matt, get down! Get outta the way!"

     The woodsman glanced back, saw Thomas aiming the arrow and threw himself to the floor of the tunnel. Thomas pulled the string, the wood creaking in protest as it bent elastically, but then Shaun jumped back to his feet, snatching up the jewelled sword where he'd dropped it a moment earlier. Then he began charging down the tunnel towards the fleeing soldier, his bathrobe flapping behind him like a cape as he screamed with rage and hatred. His body blocked Thomas’s aim and the wizard swore in frustration.

     Everyone was shouting at Shaun to get out of the way, but the woodsman ignored them, all his attention on the fourth Konnen soldier whom he couldn’t possibly catch before he reached the exit from the tunnel. There was just one chance. Thomas gasped prayers to Samnos as he tried to aim past the woodsman, to send the arrow past his shoulder to hit the Konnen in the last moment before he passed out of sight. Time to find out if the Gods really are with us, he thought as he pulled the arrow the rest of the way back and then let it go.

     The God of War must have heard his prayer, because the arrow flew straight and true, a feat he was never able to repeat no matter how many times he tried later. It passed a hairsbreadth past Shaun’s body to hit the Konnen high in the thigh, bringing him down with a cry of pain. A moment later Shaun was on him, sending him to the judgement of the Gods with a quick thrust of his sword.

     Matthew ran forward to join his brother, who was staring down at the dead Konnen in bewilderment. "Who did this?" he asked. "Who killed him?"

     "You did," said Mattnew, standing warily as if he half expected his brother ti attack him. "Don't you remember?"

     Shaun stared at him, then looked at the bloodstained sword he was still holding. The others gathered around the two brothers, glancing at each other as if trying to read answers in each others faces.

     "I don't remember doing this," said Shaun, looking puzzled. "I remember seeing four Konnens coming at us, and then..."

     “You went completely crazy," said Diana, who was looking scared. "I thought you were out of your mind!”

     “Did I?” said Shaun in puzzlement, rubbing his temple as if he had a slight headache. “I don’t remember.”

     “Can we talk about this later?” suggested Matthew anxiously. “There could be more coming any minute. We’ve got to move!”

     “He’s right,” agreed Thomas. “Let’s run first and talk later.”

     “Not that way,” said Lirenna however, as they began to move down the tunnel. “There’s nowhere to hide these bodies, and as soon as the others find them, they’ll know we came this way.” She looked back down the tunnel. There didn’t seem to be any more Konnens coming just yet. “Let’s go back to the cavern and choose another tunnel.”

     “Have we got time?” asked Matthew doubtfully.

     “We have if we hurry,” replied Shaun, who seemed to be completely his old self again. “Let’s go.”

     They ran back to the cavern, their hearts pounding with fear in case some more Konnen soldiers suddenly appeared, blocking their way, but they breathed a sigh of relief as they entered another tunnel and they slowed to a walk so as not to make too much noise. This time they walked in darkness, not wanting to make the same mistake again, and they groped their way along the wall, Shaun leading the way and feeling the mossy floor ahead of him with the tip of his sword in case there were any more holes in the ground.

     After a few minutes they heard noises and saw lights behind them, telling them that more Konnen soldiers had now arrived. To their alarm, they saw one of the lights following them down their tunnel, but a minute later there was a cry of alarm from the cavern and their pursuers hurriedly retraced their steps.

     “They’ve found the bodies,” said Shaun with a smile. “They’ve all gone chasing down the wrong tunnel. So long as we keep moving we should definitely be safe now.”