THE CHAINED GIFT XIII: Deep into Ummankor

The Grand Alchemist averted his eyes from his documents to take a glance at the elf standing in front of him. He had the haughty look of somebody who hated distractions, but accepted there were matters that had to be dealt with personally.

'Raisven speaks well of you, hum, what was your name?'

'Eitheladar, your Lordship.'

'From Misselas. Your letter of introduction is good. I knew your master, time ago; a very capable elf. That's the only reason why we agreed to bring you here, since, as you may have seen, we don't accept apprentices from outside. Where have you been these festivities?' the alchemist asked, abruptly changing the subject.

'I've been staying in an inn, your Lordship. Since my arrival I never had the chance to visit Argailias. Judging by the little I've seen, it's a very beautiful city.' The elder elf didn't make any comments; then he changed topic again.

'Raisven tells me you volunteered for the next expedition to the valley of Ummankor. Are you aware that it's a dangerous place?'

'My master strongly entrusted me not to miss the opportunity to further my studies by visiting it.' Caradhar recited almost point-by-point the things they had prepared as part of his subterfuge. 'Not many people from Misselas can do it, your Lordship.'

The Grand Alchemist didn't reply; he signalled one of the guards to come, who took Caradhar by his right shoulder and led him to the door. He pressed hard; maybe harder than necessary. Given the way he did it, the gifted wondered if he wouldn't be checking for injuries... He frowned at the guard, but of course, there wasn't any injury to hide anymore.

Once he turned his back to the alchemist, he couldn't perceive the aversion in his eyes when he looked at him. And he wouldn't have known why, either.

Outside, Raisven took a deep interest in the conversation he had held with his superior. Apart from the issue with the Maeda, she trusted the young elf's abilities and thought he would be a good choice for the task; and the further away from Lady Neskahal he were, the better.

However, that wouldn't happen that night... Punctual for their weekly appointment, the Maeda had sent for her young lover, and they were together in their usual place. As on every occasion, they were busy with their bath ritual, except that the female elf didn't summon her maid anymore: once she had checked the good quality of the material, she rather had it for her personal use only...

She helped Caradhar undressing (the young elf noticed how her eyes studied his right shoulder) and sat on the marble bench to watch him.

'Did you warm the bed of any pretty girl during the holidays, Eitheladhar? I won't believe you even if you say otherwise.'

Caradhar thought about his answer for an instant. Then he said, without being untruthful:

'You have my word, Your Excellence, that you are the only lady whose mercy I've received since I am here.'

'I told you I won't relieve you.' the Maeda chuckled. 'I doubt a date each seven days is enough for someone like you. Do you know, Eitheladhar, why I call you only that much?' She lay on her back, sensually flexing her legs so that the light fabric that covered them slipped all the way down almost to her waist. 'Two reasons: first, because I need time to recover from what you do to me... And second, because no matter what I do, whoever I sleep with, whatever problems I face those days... I know I'll have you in the end to make me forget anything. Something to look forward, hmmm?'

The elf poured clear water on his just lathered body; he looked at his partner through his semi-closed eyes and parted his lips.

'Then we better start at once, don't we?' he said finally.

Grabbing Lady Neskahal by her wrist he pulled her inside the bathtub with him, in the middle of a curtain of water drops. The thin fabric of her clothes became soaked and adhered to her skin; its transparency revealed its owner's charms. Surprised, she was going to complain, but instead decided to laugh; though when she saw the way he looked at her, with those fierce eyes and tightened lips, her laughter froze.

Caradhar took her by her back, sat her on his lap and pulled her dress up, stripping the skin in contact with him; he slid his hands along her hips until her sex, tarrying there for some instants. Then it came to his mind the scene in which he had possessed the Shadow; he recalled his tact, under his fingers, the sound of his anxious breathing...

He roughly spread her buttocks and entered her from behind, as usual, forcing her to ride him wildly while he imagined that it was Sül who shivered and moaned on top of him.

The valley of Ummankor. Years had passed since his previous visit to that sinister place. The situation was not very different, except that the number of guards was considerably higher, and most of the alchemists, less expert (and therefore expendables); that, and the fact that the area they were occupying, deep into the caverns, was much more dangerous.

The departure from House Arestinias hadn't been pleasant. After returning from his visit to the Maeda, the gifted had met Sül, waiting for him in the room, close to the window. His face was uncovered, which was rare; his brow was knitted and his nostrils, flared.

'How was it, this time?' had been the Shadow's greeting, with his most caustic tone. 'Did you satisfy her enough? Maybe you gave her an extra, since you're off for a while?'

'If you really have to know my every move, refrain, at least, from making comments,' Caradhar had replied.

'And why not?' Sül was really worked up. 'Let's talk about our little friend Adhar's incredible prowess. No matter how many he screws: he'll always keep a bit for the next one in the list.'

'Now you remind me of Darial,' the younger elf had coldly remarked. 'Are you going to try to put a collar around my neck and tie me up to the bed?'

'I suppose I'm an arsehole, thinking you wouldn't run to shag someone else right after... Do you have any idea of what I'm risking...? Nah, never mind: forget it. Fuck!' He had made as if he was going to bang the wall and had moved his gloved hand to his face instead, to hide his embarrassment.

Caradhar was staring at him with his lips tightened: he was upset with his companion's reaction and couldn't understand it. Finally, he decided to approach him, folding his arms.

'I don't understand what you want: do you want me to behave like a newlywed, or something like that? Even if I wanted to do it, do you think Lady Neskahal would accept a no for an answer? If you were ordered to do it, you'd have to go to bed with anybody.'

'I don't think so: contrary to you, I never had to fuck anyone on business.'

'Do you know you look pathetic? You're an assassin, and there you are, shaking because someone you just got laid with is unfaithful to you.'

Sül's eyes were full of anger; assassin was a great insult for a Darshi'nai, all the more so as the person pronouncing it was the least expected to do it. However, he hadn't bothered to reply; he had just looked away, his upper lip trembling. Caradhar had rested his forearm on the wall, besides the spy's head, and had whispered:

'I had to think of you, of how I did you, to get excited.'

Then he had pulled a lock of hair, escaped from the Shadow's ponytail, and had played with it, wrapping it around his finger; being so close to the object of his desire, he was feeling it reawakening. But Sül was keeping his grave expression, averting his eyes from him. In the end, he had said:

'I'm sorry for what I told you; it's pathetic indeed, and it won't happen again. And about that last thing... I wish it were enough... but it isn't.'

After that, Caradhar hadn't seen the Shadow again. And now he was in Ummankor, deep into some barely light up caves that sometimes released the sound of ominous howling.

The youngest members of the group, Caradhar included, were sent to the deepest part, together with several guards, to collect samples from the wall. It was their first time for all of them and they were unfamiliar with the environment; casualties were common, and it was rare that the survivors wanted to come back. The young gifted wondered what that substance so carefully detached from the rocky walls would be; it seemed to possess an organic quality, more than mineral, and yet it was easy to miss if one didn't know what he was looking for. He secretly kept a fragment: he might have the chance to have it analysed later.

They spent a couple of days devoted to these activities; during the third, an incident happened: angry voices were heard in the generally silent place. Caradhar went to have a look and found a group of Arestinias guards discussing with other elves; apparently his current masters had went too deep into an area already claimed by another laboratory. The quarrel was beginning to get too heated, because the soldiers grabbed their weapons in case they had to use them.

Caradhar and his companions drew nearer to the group; and, to his surprise, he realised the rival team was wearing the livery of Elore'il: in fact, one or two of them were familiar to him. He moved away at once, standing at the back of his own group, praying not to be recognised.

And then it happened: the voices attracted a pack of abominations from the corridors below.

The young elf had never had a close look of one at those creatures. Although different in shape, their basic structure was humanoid, two meters tall, but with adapted upper extremities, so that they could move on all fours. Their skin was thick and greyish, or whitish in those spots where the colour had faded, and some of them were covered with short hair, as coarse as bristles. Their eyes were phantasmagoric: small globes without eyelids, opaque as if they were veiled by glaucoma, but reflective in the dark; milky spheres that evoked will-o'-the-wisps, and same as they, were herald of death. But what was really terrifying were their venomous fangs: one or several rows of long teeth, sharp or serrated as saws; and their huge claws, repulsive and deadly.

The apparition spread panic among both groups that, leaving their equipments behind, bolted up the tunnel amid screams of terror. The guards tried to fall behind and bring up the rear, but none of them was suicidal enough as to stay and fight those beasts.

Caradhar was in the worst possible situation: trying to hide from sight, he had put himself in the most vulnerable position. After a glimpse of the horrors running up the rock corridor, he went shooting out with the rest; it was just misfortune that the elf in front of him tripped and fell his full length on the ground; the gifted couldn't dodge in time and fell in turn, tumbling on the uneven terrain due to his own impulse.

Several abominations leaped on the fallen alchemist; their howls were blood-curdling. But one of them went for Caradhar who, his back still on the ground, was trying to get up as fast as possible; not fast enough, as the monster jumped on him with open jaws, ready to bite his face.

But something unexpected happened: the beast didn't attack him; it just held him on the ground, while the two holes open over his jaws wandered around the gifted's face, emitting sniffing sounds; he froze under the horrible close-up of that cavity that dripped sticky saliva and bathed him with its hot breath.

And suddenly the creature, apparently satisfied with its inspection, held one of the young elf's ankles with its teeth, taking care not to hurt him, and started to pull towards the inside of the cave. He couldn't believe his eyes: where was it planning to drag him? To the privacy of its lair to devour him later? This thought got him out of his astonishment: he kick the abomination's head with the other leg, trying to free himself from the iron bite and run; the monster released its prey and let out a fearsome roar.

The guard at the rear of the group saved him, thrusting his spear as deeply as he could inside the huge open mouth. Caradhar stood up and resumed his escape along with the soldier, and left that aberration fighting to get rid of the weapon sticking out of its bloody maw.

Their race to the exit was crazy, with the sound of the beasts' howls echoing around the tunnels, and the fear of looking back and discovering them exhaling their foetid breath over them. But once there, the soldiers took a defensive position while the civilians ran to a safer spot. One of them was shot down; the rest went back to where the came from, disappearing again into the bowels of the earth.

Once the situation was under control, the discussion between both Houses started again, and from the mutual accusations about who caused the incident they went on to fight over the possession of the corpse. Caradhar tried not to miss any detail, but was interrupted by the guard who had helped him, coming with a healer; the physician knelt besides the young elf and examined him.

'Wounds caused by abominations use to be toxic, and we don't have a satisfying antidote yet; many of the injured fall ill and die,' he was saying. 'But look at this: it seems our apprentice has been lucky. I can't see any marks.'

The amazed guard leaned to have a look: he had witnessed the beast's attack; he had seen it, apparently biting on the elf's ankle. But even the fabric of his clothes was intact, and he was unscathed; it was the first time he had heard of anyone escaping such a situation unharmed. Caradhar tried to downplay the issue.

'I guess that thing was interested in filling its pantry with living food. I thank you for your help: if you hadn't been so fast I would have came off badly.'

'As I say, a lucky young elf,' added the healer.

Caradhar bowed his head to the guard and remained there, head bowed, trying to keep listening to both teams unnoticed. When things quieted down and each group went back to their bases, the gifted managed to stay as close as possible to the master alchemist in charge, who was reprimanding the Head of the Guard.

'If you had done your job, none of this would have happened. One casualty, already! And to make matter worse, we will lose this day work, because it isn't safe to go back to that area. Leaving the alchemists behind, while you run for safety...! Make no mistake: I will report this.'

'I warned you we were too deep inside Elore'il territory, sir,' replied the scolded elf, trying to suppress his anger. 'It was a pack of not fewer than six of those creatures. How do you pretend us to stand up to that, down there?'

'You have to do whatever it takes to keep my people safe! And enough of your stories; now that we are so close to grab what we are looking for, we won't allow anyone, not even Elore'il, to place obstacles in the way. The caves don't belong to them, after all! If they found it, so can we...'

'In case of an armed confrontation, they could file a formal complaint with the Prince; a human outpost is one thing, but another House of the First Circle...'

'Whenever I need your political advice, I'll ask you for it,' said the alchemist, sarcastically. 'Stick to keep the monstrosities and the other guards at bay. Tomorrow we will be needing to collect samples from the same cavern they are occupying now, so you manage with that.'

The master dismissed the guard with a hand gesture; the latter walked away with a furious look.

On the next day works were resumed. A more careful party would have waited and check if the area was completely safe, after the previous encounter; that wasn't Arestinias' case. The guard made sure the abominations were gone; the alchemists looked around askance: no trace of their fallen colleague had been found.

One of the soldiers walked towards the alchemist in charge and whispered something; the latter rubbed his chin with thoughtful expression and then looked around.

'You!' he called, pointing at Caradhar. 'Come with me.'

The elf obeyed. They walked along with the guard, deep into the cavern, until they reached a small passage branching off the main route. Then they stopped in front of a narrow opening in the wall, about six feet above ground level. Both alchemist and guard turned to the gifted.

'Listen, boy: this opening leads to a secondary cavern, adjacent to a bigger one. It's some feet long, and narrow, but you are light enough. Once you reach the other end, if you carefully study the wall, you'll discover signs of the substance we have been collecting; sprinkled here and there, there are similar small nodules, but with a different bright grey colour. You have to bring as much as you can, but beware, as it should be very crumbly.'

'A warning: you better be quiet, as this area belongs to another House. I doubt you would have much chance of escaping safe and sound otherwise, so discretion is a must. Did you understand?'

Caradhar nodded. He collected his tools, a small lamp, and got up to the opening. There wasn't too much space to manoeuvre, but he managed to crawl towards the other end.

He was in complete darkness; it was damp and rocks were slippery, as if they were covered in slime; his movements created a disturbing echo that filled his ears; he wasn't certain he wouldn't find a horde of those ghastly creatures, crouching at the other side; and to cap it all, if he was discovered by his former House, an infinite variety of problems could descend upon him; simply perfect.

In the meanwhile, the guard and the alchemist were talking in whispers.

'Why should we send a foreign apprentice?' asked the first. 'Do you have so much faith in him as to entrust him with this delicate task?'

'I have my reasons,' answered the second. 'He is the most dispensable; if he fails, we can always try again; and if Elore'il discovers him, we can wash our hands saying he was a Misselas spy... Uh? Didn't you hear some noise coming from that direction?' They both turned their heads towards the entrance of the passage. 'We better have a look...'

Caradhar finally reached the end of the narrow tunnel; he timidly stuck out his head and listened for a long time in the dark, before he dared to light the lamp. From afar, vague sounds arrived, which he supposed were caused by the other party of alchemists. He climbed down the hole and studied the wall in detail; he could indeed make out, spread here and there, tiny spots with a silvery glow. He scratched one of them and found on his fingers a minimal amount of grey flakes that looked very familiar to him. He hadn't been working during years with them in vain: they were identical to the ones he found, a long time ago, in his first expedition to Ummankor.

The spots on the wall were so scattered that he wouldn't be able to obtain much from them; he decided to go deeper into the secondary cavern and kept a keen eye out. And his search bore fruit, because he found a promising surface, covered in that organic-like substance he had been collecting, under which grey nodules were visible. He took his small rock hammer out and chipped carefully, leaving his oil lamp on the ground.

He had lost track of time; all his attention was focused on the extraction of such a fragile material. And then, suddenly, a familiar voice called: 'Caradhar!'. Surprised, he turned around right in time to see a black blur rushing towards him, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him, almost throwing him, behind a corner of the stone wall to take cover.

At their backs the world seemed to collapse: a deafening explosion made the ground under them vibrate; the walls shook also, and the sound of falling rocks boomed in the cavern and adjacent corridors. A cloud of dust settled on both elves.

When the gifted reacted he found Sül lying on him, shielding him with his body, under a thin layer of debris. The Shadow, without a word, checked if they were both unharmed, stood up and studied the situation. The wall that the alchemist apprentice had been chipping was completely buried by rocks; same happened with the entrance to the secondary cavern; to top it all, the roof over them was threatening with giving up as well; it was impossible that any living creature around them would have missed the boom, hence they would soon come to investigate what had caused it, whether guards or abominations. Or both. Muttering a curse, he grabbed his companion again, who was still confuse; he shoved him inside the tunnel he had previously crossed, jumped behind him and slipped like an eel to cast a discreet eye over the other end; around the middle it had been obstructed by more falling stones. Good news were that the Arestinias waiting at the other side wouldn't discover him at once; on the other side, it also meant that all the exits were blocked, and scouts could appear at any of them at any moment. He kept swearing, freed some rocks from the passage and motioned for Caradhar to place them hiding the entrance of their tunnel; that way, any explorer accessing from Elore'il's workplace wouldn't discover their escape route at once.

He didn't know if the Arestinias would be clearing the rubble from the other side; that would mean trouble for him. But there was no way they could stay into that hole forever, with hardly any space to move. He rubbed his face; then turned it to his companion, stuck under him into that narrow and dark place, and exploded.

'What kind of mental defective arsehole are you?' he muttered, furious. 'Didn't you smell the gas? And the damn lamp, lit against the wall... Don't you get with your retarded brain that right now you'd be buried under a heap of rocks?'

'Gas? What gas?' asked Caradhar, still confused.

'What gas?' The Shadow, even more enraged, grabbed the gifted by the neck. 'The fucking gas that you released when you chipped the fucking wall, you fucking idiot! Come on... You reek of it! How can you not...?'

Under him, Caradhar became quiet; Sül couldn't see his face, because they were plunged into darkness, but he also fell silent. He reached for his belt, took a small phial, held his breath and opened it: it contained a preparation that he mainly used to scare away animals; it was harmless, but so foul that made eyes water. Caradhar didn't react.

'You can't smell, uh?' Sül was amazed. 'What the... First time I ever see something like that. Since when?'

'It isn't something I ordinarily talk about,' finally answered the questioned elf, after some hesitation. 'I have never told anyone, and would be grateful if you didn't mention it, either.'

'Why? It isn't something to be ashamed of, as far as I know. Unless...' Suddenly, some things started to make sense in the young elf's mind.

'Shouldn't we be taking care of different matters right now?'

'Ah... You may be right... Move to where the tunnel is blocked and start passing rocks to me, I'll move them to the other side. If you find your Arestinias little friends digging from the other end, it'd be nice if you dragged them away from there as soon as possible and distracted them so that I can clear off discreetly, alright?' There was no answer. 'Caradhar, are you...?'

He was interrupted by the gifted's lips, pressing his, and his tongue slipping between them, voraciously sinking into his mouth; his hands over both cheeks so that he couldn't escape his kiss; not that he tried.

'I'm sorry, if I stink,' commented the younger elf, crawling to follow the spy's instructions.

For his part, Sül took his position, upset: as if the situation were not bad enough, now he'd also have to deal with a bulge into his trousers.

It took them hours of work, but they finally heard the sound of hands excavating from the other side. The Shadow moved to the farthest end of the tunnel; Caradhar kept removing some rocks and, soon, a thin line of light became visible through the cracks. To his surprise, there was a single guard devoted to the task of rescuing him: the same one that had freed him from the abomination.

'Gods!' he exclaimed when the alchemist apprentice emerged from the darkness of the aperture. 'I knew it was worth the try! Are you wounded? What happened in there? Wait, I'll give you a hand to come down...'

'A gas bag while I was drilling the rock. Fortunately I haven't been discovered.'

'Oh my... Fortunately indeed. The other teams have been moving around here; they ordered us not to undertake a search because it was too risky, and they were giving you up as dead. But I thought I had to...

'I need air; we better speak outside,' interrupted Caradhar, wishing to move the guard away from the passage and Sül.

'It's true, I'm sorry. Let's go out!'

They both walked up the tunnel. After a while, a shadow appeared almost invisible in the dark. And not a minute too soon: he had swallowed gas, was exhausted and his head had been spinning for hours. The spy walked away, unsteady on his legs.

'I must thank you again for saving me,' said Caradhar to the guard once they were far enough away. 'It's becoming a habit.'

The gifted stopped for a moment and bowed his head, both hands over his chest, in the elven way to express gratitude. The guard felt pleased and confused.

'I just did my duty... I wouldn't... I wouldn't have forgiven myself without trying, at least.'

'I am glad not everyone considers me so dispensable. After all, I don't belong to the House.'

'Ah... No... That...' The guard slightly reddened. 'In fact, the Head of the Guard organised a rescue party; it was the master alchemist the one who strongly opposed and forbade us...'

'You got into trouble because of me,' stated Caradhar.

'...'

'I'm sorry.'

'Hey, that spear was the present I got in my promotion,' the soldier joked, referring to the one he had used with the abomination. 'Damned if I was going to let it go to waste for nothing...'

Back in the base camp, Caradhar, still covered in dust and dirt, was summoned by the master alchemist; he could see on his face that he wasn't happy to see him again. He lectured him, in anger, about the consequences that his fruitless and unforgivable carelessness could bring upon them; in the middle of his speech, the gifted fished a small pouch in his clothes and offered it to him. The alchemist became even angrier, but still opened the bag; he was left speechless.

'Is that what you were looking for, sir?'

'I didn't think...' He took a pinch and examined it in the light of the lamp, forgetting the rest. 'Is there more where you found this?'

'Buried under rocks, sir. May I ask what is it?' asked the young elf.

The master got over his surprise and stared at the apprentice with calculating eyes.

'Nothing of your concern. And due to your incompetence, this could be the last of it that we see! Get out of my sight before I... Get out!'

Caradhar obeyed. He thought of Sül; he didn't wonder if he was safe, because he always took that for granted; but he was curious about where his hideout would be, in the middle of that desolation.

Several days later, normal activities were continued. All the young alchemists went back to work into the caves, although the mood was different; they were whispering since the master had abandoned the valley with the first light of day, escorted by a good number of heavily armed guards.

Caradhar didn't need further explanations: he knew the scientist had rushed back to House Arestinias to move to safety his newly acquired treasure. He wondered if it had been wise to give him the substance, but then shrugged: once in the right track, they would have obtained it one way or another.

The young elf observed, out of the corner of his eye, the Head of The Guard quietly speaking to one of the soldiers; he had spotted them both looking in his direction. He searched for his benefactor of those last days, but for the first time, he wasn't there. Immediately, the soldier walked towards him.

'I need you to accompany me to the entrance of the place where the collapse happened; I have been ordered to inspect it.'

Caradhar nodded and preceded the guard on their descent to the branch, holding the small lamp. He was certain that things were not going well for him; still, he preferred to wait and trust that, if all got nasty, the Shadow wouldn't be far away.

Once they reached the end of the corridor leading to the opening, the young gifted's anticipation was confirmed: the guard leapt on him, covered his mouth and stabbed him in one side with a long, sharp blade. The pain was intense, and even more when his attacker pulled out the weapon and plunged it a few times more; yet nothing compared to feel his heart pierced by a rusty metal bar...

The soldier thrust his dagger one last time and firmly held his prey; despite the torment it was for him, the young elf relaxed his body and pretended he could no longer stand. He slipped down on his knees, leaning against the stone wall. The guard released him very slowly, and stretched himself to pick the lamp that had fallen to the ground. Caradhar used that movement to take the weapon out of his side ; his wounds quickly closed.

The other elf turned around; he was prepared to drag a corpse, and wasn't expecting his victim to open his eyes and stab him in the neck with his own dagger. He looked at the gifted with surprise; he tried to scream, but the blade had pierced his vocal cords and all he could emit was an ugly gurgling, while blood gushed through his lips. After that he fell down, dead.

Caradhar pondered how he would explain the guard's disappearance. He had been depending on the Shadow too much, but he didn't come. Was he gone to take care of other tasks, or...? He frowned.

He extracted the weapon out of the wound and put it back into the sheath hanging down the dead elf's belt. There was blood on the stone ground; would those monsters sniff blood? This thought made his pulse quicken. Grabbing the corpse by his ankles, he dragged it outside the branch, down the corridor. He could listen to his own heartbeat, pounding in his head; if he could, why not the abominations? He wondered how long he would be able to drag such a heavy corpse, how far he would reach until there was no turning back and the jaws of Ummankor closed around him. Suddenly he heard a strange sound coming up from the tunnel: the echo of shuffling steps; a disturbing sniffing; a guttural growl... Automatically he dropped the body and ran away.

When he ran past the amazed guard on duty and then the group, he didn't stop; he just articulated 'Abominations!', causing everyone to flee at once.

The abominations didn't appear that time. But later, when the explorers searched for the missing guard, they couldn't find anything: only some stains of dry blood.

Caradhar was sent back to Argailias. It seemed one of the Maeda's messenger birds had arrived with orders to safely escort the apprentice back to House Arestinias. Still, the young elf wouldn't allow himself to let his guard down during the trip, fearing that the guards would try to finish the job.

Nothing remarkable happened. The Shadow, however, remained missing.

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