REAPERS - Book One

4

Instructor Barda ordered the handful of trainees who passed the trials to gather in the ancient compound's center. The sloping plaza was at the mossy hill's zenith, safely out of the reach of the foul water. At its center was a deep black well.

Insects buzzed around them as Barda explained what was next in store: "Beneath these ruins is said to be a colony of swamp rats the size of canines and twice as mean as any dog ever was. You are to descend into the tunnels below and slay these despicable beasts. I expect one dead vermin for each man that returns. If you do not make a kill do not bother resurfacing because I will personally roast your ass on a goddamn spit and feed you to my unicorns!"

The handmen gave the trainees short swords and torches and taught them how to braid the vines to make them stronger. They went down the awful hole. Immediately the stink hit them and with Blacwin's curse of sharp senses it struck him the worst. Water was circulating below, however, and so it was at least not stagnant. Blacwin choked down his puke and descended further along his vine. The recruit Barda had endearingly named Crotch Rot was not so lucky and began to wretch and vomit uncontrollably.

As they descended into the pungent darkness Barda went on: "These despicable rodents are sure to be festering with diseases so do not under any circumstances allow them to bite you! If you do you will be placed in quarantine and will be given a special brand of training in herbal detoxification in which you get to be the practice dummy! And a dummy is exactly what you are if you let one of these filthy things sink its filthy teeth into your useless ass!"

Blacwin's torchlight revealed hieroglyphs on the well's walls depicting masked men feeding other people to terrible reptiles, suggesting perhaps this well was used by these ancient people to drop sacrifices to their hungry swamp gods below.

The potion's effects were already fading and slowly being replaced by nausea in Blacwin's gut and a weakness in his limbs. Forthrup did not appear so badly afflicted and Blacwin guessed it might have been a combination of the man's larger size and a tolerance he had accumulated for the stuff over time.

Blacwin and the others reached the sewer floor and landed in waist-deep water. They found themselves at an intersection of four aqueducts. The trainees split into smaller parties, three or four heading in each direction. Blacwin paired up with Forthrup and two other men joined them in the rear. Instructor Barda had dubbed one of these poor fellows "Sissy Cheeks" which the other men had mercifully shortened to just "Cheeks." He was a huge specimen and simple of mind. He had been able to power himself through the gauntlet through sheer strength, too stupid to fail, but down here his inner child came out and Barda was made a prophet - Sissy Cheeks whimpered and whined about the dark and dampness and fearfully thrusted his torchlight into the recesses.

The other man was a baker's son named Dimwell whom Barda had taken to calling "Dimwit" despite the fact that he was among the most promising recruits in this current crop. Dimwell was athletic, pure of heart, and picked up anything he was taught with an enviable ease. He often paired up with Cheeks to help him struggle through the various challenges, as he did now.

Blacwin peered into the murk beyond the torchlight. Through the glare his ylfish eyes were able to pick some detail out of the gloom and saw that the tunnels split up ahead. He could hear movement in the distant water. But he pretended to sense nothing so as not to arouse suspicion about his gifts.

"Quiet, now." Blacwin said. "Or you will draw them to us."

"I'm turning back," said Cheeks.

Annoyed, Forthrup whispered: "Did it never occur to you that Reaper training might be something like this?"

"Easy," said Dimwell.

Blacwin tried to listen for what was up ahead. "Something's coming."

Reverberating down the dark tunnels came the sounds of hoarse snorting and splashing water. The snorty clamor echoed down the halls and played tricks on their minds.