Thralls of Dread Lord (1.46T)
Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.
It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.
Here is the first post from this series.
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Retaak looked down to a see a trickle of water running past his feel.
“RUN!” shouted Uyage ahead of them.
Uyaashie and Kuzat looked at Albyursia. The elf was bound; there was no way that she could run. Retaak started to move, quickly picking up speed.
“GO!” he shouted to his friends, grabbing the elf and slinging her over his shoulder.
“Oof, careful please,” said Albyursia. although her voice was surprisingly calm Retaak noted.
“My apologies,” he said as he thundered down the tunnel, feeling the water lap up over his boots. Uyaashie was high stepping to avoid being slowed down while Kuzat was scampering along the ceiling now. “This is going to be rough.”
“So be it.”
The water washed down on them, rapidly getting deeper. The roar of it was deafening now. Uyaashie and Uyage half ran, half swam. Fortunately the speed of the flow was not enough to knock them off their feet. Drowning would still kill them though.
The tunnel was nearly flat now. Retaak powerwed forward, not slowed at all by the water.
“Grab on!” he shouted to Uyaashie as she came abreast of her. The sodden hob latched on to his belt as he surged ahead. The water surged around him higher and higher, but he did not stop. He reached Uyage, swimming now, and grabbed her, pushing forward with all his might, cleaving through the water like the bow of a warship. He feared it would not be enough as the water climbed.
“There it is!” shouted Kuzat.
Retaak heaved himself toward the opening at the top of the tunnel, pushing Uyaashie and Uyage up, followed by Albyursia. The current nearly swept Retaak off his feet as he hurled the elf up, but he set himself and leapt, catching the ladder, hauling himself out of the tunnel. He fell back beside the others, breathing heavily.
The moon shone down above them and the air was crisp and clean. The remainder of the band were all alive, if wet and miserable looking.
“That was intense,” said Uyaashie, wiping her glasses.
“Thankfully we did not have to worry about the last pit,” said Kuzat.
“I would not care to repeat that run,” said Uyage.
“I am glad all of you made it out alive,” said Retaak.
“Ashoktyaar,” said Uyaashie, looking down.
“He will be well-remembered,” said Retaak. “And one day, fate willing, we will have have our revenge for his death.”
“Revenge on who?” asked Kuzat.
“On Ushochhushi for sending us here,” said Retaak. “On those who deny us our freedom.”
“That seems unlikely,” said Uyage, sighing. “We have no power over spawn like Ushochhushi; he has the Dread Lord’s ear. To anger him is to face the Dread Lord’s Wrath.”
“I do not fear the Dread Lord either,” said Retaak.
Uyage rolled her eyes and shook her head, Retaak did not push the issue. To him the Dread Lord was just a powerful Spawn; it was hard to make others see his reasoning though.
“I would like to hear more of this Dread Lord,” said Albyursia. “We know him–“
Uyage hissed, holding up her hands for quiet, and at first Retaak though his friend had taken offence at the elf’s questioning, but he quickly realized it was something else.
“Spawn, a large group. searching for something,” said Uyage.
“They must be looking for us,” said Kuzat.
Retaak lifted Albyursia, who offered no complain. “We go.”
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