Dav lay naked and bound in the flickering light of the Cultist’s fire. He’d lost all track of time, his arms burned from the strain of being tied behind him that left hands and legs numb. The cold air of the hall no longer bothered him. What did bother him was the constant chanting. The leader's strange dialect and his followers' equally strange responses. He could only guess it was some prayer or benediction to Despair. It grated on him and frightened him more than a little.

  He still couldn’t grasp the strangeness of those who worshipped Despair. That they were mad there was no doubt but quite unlike what he’d always pictured madness as, strange ramblings and paranoia. This held a cold cunning and level of acceptance he couldn’t fathom, the very idea was as alien to him as the ancient Veliar.

  For the hundredth time, maybe the thousandth he wondered about his companions. Where were they? He prayed to Sayoshti that they were safe from harm, hopeful that his small silent prayers were heard through the gross din of the cultist’s insanity. He also prayed for peace, serenity and to be able to accept his fate whatever might come. The prayers helped, if only a little.

  A spasm of pain shot up his spine. A symptom of lying there unable to move. He wriggled around trying to relieve it, noting the darkest depths of the hall in the shadows cast by the firelight. It all seemed surreal, with the numbness of his body and mind sheltering him from the worst of his predicament.

  As near as he could figure these cultists were waiting for someone, or something! They’d made mention of their ‘Master.’ Dav had no desire to meet it. Anyone or anything that could invoke the fear he saw in these madmen’s eyes when they spoke of it would have to be something terrible to behold. He intended to be gone long before there was any risk of meeting whatever it was. To that effect he’d been slowly working at his bonds, twisting and pulling at them as far as he was able to. When that brought no result beyond bloody wrists, he started sawing at them with a small sharp stone he’d managed to find lying nearby. It was a pathetic effort producing little to no gain yet he kept at it as much for something to do as for any hope of success.

  He looked around again as he shifted in pain. Earlier he’d spotted his clothing and belongings close to the fire and out of reach. His clothes and cloak dropped to the floor in a hapless heap, pouch resting atop the pile and his scabbarded sword lying beside them. They may as well have been sitting on the moon for all the good they did him there. There was nothing else of use anywhere. Resigned to waiting things out and continuing working on his tied hands he started to roll back over.

  Something caught his eye just then. A deeper shadow near the edge of the light. He focused on it, worried about any sort of thing voluntarily lurking in these depths. His straining eyes searched the darkness. He thought he caught a glint of metal reflecting the light back at him. Dav turned his head back to the cultists busy at their fireside activities. They hadn't noted anything amiss. When he turned back to the darkness he caught sight of Relf’s pale face staring back at him disembodied in the void.

  Relf raised a finger to his lips signifying silence and made a swirl with his hand above his head, a code for circling around. Then he faded back out of the light silent as a spectre. Hope welled up within Dav’s heart. His friends were here. He wasn’t left forgotten in the depths and more importantly his companions were alive. They had no way to communicate with him and he had no idea what they were planning but he intended to be ready. So he turned back to the sharp stone and began hacking at his ropes with a vigour he thought he’d lost.

  Several agonising minutes passed. Relf and whoever was with him remained undiscovered by Dav’s captors as he worked on his bonds. He felt some give in the tightness around his wrists but he wasn’t free…yet! More minutes ticked away. He was at the point of wondering exactly when something would happen. Anticipation flowed through him as adrenaline lent him a strength he didn’t know he still possessed. He was maybe half way through the ropes, freedom becoming more real by the second when there was a loud clack and clatter of noise from the darkness near where he’d seen Relf moments ago. He started at the noise. Realisation dawned on him. Someone had thrown a stone over there hoping to draw his captor’s attention.

  All three of the cultists stopped their chanting and looked towards the sound. Their leader made a gesture and one of them started towards where Dav was trussed up. As he strode past his captive he aimed a half-hearted kick that connected with Dav’s midriff. Dav gave a grunt at the impact but otherwise did nothing. The man stopped a few paces away searching the darkness. The leader and the other warily watching.

  From the other side of the fire Dav’s friends struck. As silent as ghosts they used the distraction to get as close as possible while the cultists focused away from them. Dav watched as the forms of Relf and Tanisin emerged from the darkness like avenging spirits. Either Dav’s face full of hope or some other factor caused the cultist leader to suddenly look back.

  The leader saw Relf and Tanisin and gave a cry of alarm, simultaneously ripping his sword free he prepared to engage them. The two charged at being discovered with blades held high as they closed the gap. Relf leaped through the fire and swung an overhand blow at a cultist while Tanisin circled to engage the leader. The third, having turned at his leader's warning, drew his sword and rushed into the fray. Dav did what he could, as the man made to pass him he lashed out, straining against his half hewn bonds. With a great effort he broke through. His body free he struck out with his feet entangling the rushing cultist who tripped and stumbled trying to retain his footing.

  The man fell and with luck hit his face flat on the floor. Dav couldn’t move any further once his bonds broke. The blood rushed back to his extremities with extreme pins and needles shooting into his limbs rendered him unable to stand. He waited out the pain praying he’d recover and regain his feet before anyone’s attention turned to him.

  Relf’s leaping strike through the fire staggered his opponent who managed a weak block against the swing. The pair were now engaged in trading vicious blows back and forth. The cultist’s leader and Tanisin fought each other. It was clear that these were not mere brutes, they’d had training sometime before. The fighting went on longer than any of them wished to draw it out.

  Relf finally managed to end his battle, bleeding himself from some small cuts. Feigning a side swing drawing his opponent’s sword towards a block then switching direction to a sweeping upward swing that caught the cultist on the chin. His opponent dropped with a large portion of his lower face now missing.

  Tanisin still struggled with the leader, the man was skilled and had an advantage on reach. On top of that the oppressive sense in his mind seemed stronger now with each minute that passed. Tanisin tried to manoeuvre his opponent into an error. The leader saw an opening though and took it. Tanisin recognized the danger made to parry, then he slipped on a rock underfoot that caused him to stumble and his foe’s sword connected with the side of his head with a sickening sound. Dav cried out in dismay at seeing his brother fall.

  Relf drew his dagger and threw it in one fluid motion. Firelight glinted off the spinning blade as it traversed the gap. His throw was true and his dagger buried itself in the leader’s back, dropping him to the floor. By then the third cultist had somewhat regained his senses and footing. Dav threw himself at the man in a tackle that connected just below the knees. The cultist toppled over and Dav was on him.

  A rage filled Dav’s mind. These wicked men, worshippers of Despair. With Tanisin down and possibly dead he saw red. He’d managed to get atop the struggling cultist while raining blows upon him with fists clenched hard. He beat the cultists again and again. Eventually his opponent stopped struggling, stopped trying to deflect the blows that came non stop and with a ferocity that caused even Relf to stop in shock. The man’s face was a bloody pulp, no longer recognizable when Relf finally came around to haul Dav off of him.

  Dav rolled to his back gasping on the stone floor. Not feeling anything but the subsiding rage and remaining tingling in his limbs. Relf hurried over to Tanisin looking for any sign of life from his sergeant. Relief flooded into him and he called out to Dav. “He’s alive!” Tanisin’s untimely stumble had saved his life by altering the angle of impact so it was the flat of the sword that had caught him and his helm had eased the blow. He lay there dazed but breathing with a massive bruise forming on the side of his face and was rubbing his head in pain, helm discarded.

  Relf helped Tanisin sit up ensuring he was indeed alright then came back to Dav, stopping to grab the gear on his way. “Here, get dressed.” He handed Dav his clothing pouch and sword belt. He then checked the cultists for any signs of life. The two he and Dav had dispatched were dead and lay motionless. The leader was still breathing with quick shallow gasps, it was certain he’d be gone in minutes. Relf made to end it, pulling his thrown dagger from the man’s back.

  “You’re too late…” The cultist gasped, writhing in pain as the dagger was removed. A fresh spurt of blood escaped from the wound He gave a mad gasping laugh. “Too late…”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Relf looked at the madman, glaring into his eyes. “It’s too late for you maybe.”

  “My Master…..” Before the cultist could finish he died with a long slow gurgle of breath.

  Tanisin more or less his own self again had regained his feet and made his way to the others. He had a splitting headache and numerous small wounds bleeding into his clothes. Dav was now clothed and on his feet and rushed to offer his thanks and relief to his saviours. The three of them slapping backs and grasping hands in a joyous reunion.

  Tanisin held Dav by the shoulders at arms length, looking him up and down. “You alright? They didn’t do anything ‘untoward’ to you did they?”

  “No, nothing like that. I’m glad you guys found me when you did though. Who knows what horrors they had planned. We’d better get out of here, their leader talked of more of them and mentioned some threat to the others back at the ruins.”

  “Should we go back the way we came or take that stairway out?” Relf asked.

  “The stairway I think.” Tanisin replied. “That one we questioned in the tunnel said it’s only about five miles from where we came down. Plus if there are more of them they won’t expect us to come that way. We can get out of here and sneak around back to the others. Hopefully we’re not too late.” He did his best to sound confident. The encounter had left him shaken given his close call. Plus that sense or presence still hung there inside of him. It was dark and foreboding, seeping away at his resolve as surely as the effects of the Dreadlands did.

  They searched the hall for any supplies the cultists may have lying about. They found a pack full of food and other odds and ends and took it with them. As a group they mounted the large stairway at the far end, climbing upwards.

  The stairs ended at an open doorway that in turn took them into a large ruined building that was empty of anything. Like the ruins that had brought them there it had a long abandoned feel about it. Nothing remarkable of note, just moss growing on the stone. The building could have once been a hall or a barn for all they knew, the end opposite held a large door frame with no door. The late afternoon light spilled in and brought relief as they stepped into the natural light. Despite being in The Dreadlands they all felt immediately better about being out of that dank deep place.

  With a glance towards the sun to get his bearings Taninsin noted the way. He led his companions southward back towards the ruins they had left what seemed so long ago. In truth little more than a few hours had passed. Time had a way of slipping past when one was underground with nothing to gauge it by. Their path led through more ruins, most little more than grass choked hills and lumps before coming to rolling prairie once again. Tanisin picked up the pace, not too much as he and Dav at least were still feeling the effects of recent events. A light trot that ate up the distance. In what seemed like no time they caught sight of the old village they had started in.

  They approached from the north. Wary of anyone or anything that may be lurking in the shadows. The building their friends were sheltering in lay just ahead. So far no sign of anything amiss. With caution they split at the building. Dav and Tanisin heading around one way and Relf going the other. They converged at the entrance, ready for anything.

  They found nothing, rather nothing surprising. Willhem and Deliah sat hunkered near the hole in the floor and the horses stood still saddled. It was as if they’d only been gone a few minutes. Both looked up as the trio entered with relief in their expressions.

  “You got him! Good work.” Willhem exclaimed.

  Noting their battered countenance Deliah ventured to ask, “What happened?”

  “Not now.” Tanisin put her off for the moment. “There are cultists about, mount up. I want to be clear of here and back on track before dark. I’ll explain later.”

  The companions didn’t argue or delay. Within moments they were mounted and leaving the ruins behind heading back towards where they’d deviated from their path. Once clear of the buildings they broke into a gallop. They didn’t get far.

  Tanisin was in the lead and as the group crested a low hill he came to a sudden stop, his horse dug into the solid earth and slid. The others, surprised with the abrupt halt, overrode him somewhat before they too reigned in.

  The scene ahead was a nightmare to the tired and battered group. A large group of husks milled about in the hollow below them. Maybe twenty of the creatures fronted by four cultists in black robes. Behind that group was another figure! It stood head and shoulders taller than the tallest cultist present and it seemed to absorb the little daylight left. Its very presence made them all feel ill. Like the Dreadlands themselves personified.

  Tanisin felt the presence within him surge at seeing the dark being. There was some connection to the thing! Was this the ‘Master’ the cultists had spoken of? The Shadow Being. Was this confounding feeling a result of his encounter in the night? It made him feel disgusted and sick as both groups stood and faced each other.

  One of the cultists looked back at the menacing figure. It remained motionless except for its garb. For all appearances it could be a man shrouded in a dark cloak and cowl, though that cowl swirled and stirred like an inky black smoke. The cultist nodded, turned back to their group and took a few steps forward.

  “Come to us if you will, churchmen. My Master wishes to make himself known to you.” He yelled up at them. The group could feel a barely contained fear in his voice.

  “What do you want to do Tan?” Dav asked, his apprehension rising. He had no desire for further battle.

  Tanisin had already decided. His desire was to rid his mind of this foul blanket that encompassed it. He felt a challenge from the thing though it remained motionless. “Form a wedge!” He commanded. His squad obeyed without thought. Months of drilling had ingrained it into them. “We charge. Break through and keep going. Understood?”

  “Yes Sir!” The others responded. With Tanisin in the lead, Dav fanned out to his right with Relf. Willhem and Deliah to his left.

  Tanisin drew his sword, holding it aloft. His show of bravado belaying the dread and fright he felt at having to go through this again. He brought the sword sweeping down to his front and yelled, “Charge!” Then put heels to his horses side and urged the animal into a full charge.

  A wedge of horsemen, even five such as they numbered, was a daunting sight to soldiers on foot. These weren’t soldiers however and husks had no self preservation. As they flew down the hillside towards imminent collision with the mass of creatures Tanisin worried about the cultists and whatever it was behind them. If these men were half as capable as the last group they’d tangled with his troop would have a hard time. They could only hope to break through and escape.

  The gap closed and there was no more time for thought. Tanisin bore down on the cultist who’d addressed them. The man had drawn his sword and his cold stare contained a joyful glee at the prospect of violence. Tanisin ran him over and his companions followed suit. The remaining cultists proved no real problem. Upon seeing their companion trod under hoof they spread out allowing the mass of husks behind them to slow the charge. Tanisin lost sight of the Shadow Being but he felt it, a pull, a call to join it, to submit. It was strong but he pushed on ignoring it as best he could. He had no illusions about what another encounter with this thing would be like, he could literally feel it within him. Willing his mount to force a way through the husks his horse slowed as one after another was ridden over. The rest pushed closer, reaching and grasping for the mounted party and crushing against them with a mindless intensity.

  Tanisin was almost through when a cry of alarm brought his attention around. Most of his group was with him. Willhem however had been surrounded and his horse foundered fighting the reigns in terror. In front of Will was the ominous figure reaching for his reigns.

  “To Willhem squad, leave no one behind.” Tanisin yelled above the confusion.

  As one the group made for Willhem. Before they could reach him his horse went down in a swarm of ravenous husks. He screamed while still slashing right and left with his sword to no avail. He was soon buried under the sheer pressure of the creatures. The squad fell to it with a grim determination, mowing down figures all around. Dav and Relf somehow became engaged with the Shadow Being. It had a long dark blade that seemed to absorb the light and sent shockwaves down the arms of those who parried its blows.

  Minutes passed that seemed like hours. Even working together it was all Dav and Relf could do to hold this figure at bay. It slashed about with an inhuman serpentine fluidity that their training hadn't prepared them for. The thing was lightning fast and unpredictable. Dav took a cut on the leg. Pain flared, a burning sensation that spread to encompass his whole leg. All seemed doomed to turn against the group! Their charge faltered as arms grew tired of hacking through bodies like wheat in a field. Then Tanisin and Deliah managed to free Willhem from the crush of bodies about him. Deliah pulled him up to the saddle behind her.

  Seeing Willhem clear, Tanisin rallied his people. “On me, on me!”

  Dav and Relf couldn’t disengage from the viperous creature they faced. Every move they made was met with a counter. The Shadow Being moved as if not of this world with a slick fluid grace about it that seemed to have it everywhere at once. The sense of Despair it exuded caused them to second guess and hesitate.

  Tanisin, recognising the danger, rushed the Being on horseback with Deliah hot on his heels. A well swung blow, destined to land, gave the two their chance to break away from it. As Tanisin’s sword connected with the Being, it dematerialised! Flickering out of and back into existence in the blink of an eye. Tanisin’s blade passed harmlessly through the space and he almost lost his seat on his mount. It was a daunting and frightful realisation regarding the nature of the forces they faced. Despite that it gave Dav and Relf the opening they needed to get clear.

  The group pressed close and put spurs to flanks once again. Pressing through the remaining husks with the cultists herding the horde to try and intercept the group. They were clear now. With nothing in the way of them leaving the grim scene behind. They urged their horses to keep moving, putting more distance between themselves and the ambush. None of them wished to stop before knowing they were well clear. As they rode for their lives the sun set behind them. It promised to be a long, cold and fearful night.