Inheritance - Chapter 11 - Dungeon Delving

• Posted by Golden Fool June 20, 2015 - 1,205 views

  It was not what he had been expecting; while the ruins had been described to him, he still hadn’t prepared for what lay before them. To either side there were crumbling stone arches and spires that gave off the feel of a temple.  

  In places he could see piles of cracked stone where some of the arches had collapsed, along the face of the ruins there were several alcoves and in one there appeared to be a scattering of bones. Whatever had left them there didn’t seem to be around, and while he was sure that the four of them could deal with whatever it was if they were forced too, Alarne hoped they wouldn’t have to.

  *****

  Unlike Alarne and the others, who sat atop their mounts staring at the arching ruins that sprawled before them, Sofie had slipped from her horse and was now making her way towards the entrance.

  While the rest of the ruins seemed as though they might collapse should someone lean against them, the huge wooden door was surprising well maintained. The area before it was free of debris as though it had been opened recently and the hinges looked as though they should be attached to the massive gates that marked the entrance to Solitude, rather than the entrance to some ruin in the wilderness of the Rift.

  The door swung open with ease and she stepped through into the darkened entrance hall. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light that creeped in through the door behind her, but once they had she could just make out the shape of the rubble littering the hall. It looked as though most of the left side of the hall had collapsed at some point, as there was a mountain of broken stone blocking her line of sight. As she took a step forward she felt something give way under her foot and heard a sharp cracking sound that echoed throughout the hall, looking down she noticed what appeared to be broken pottery scattered on the floor to either side of the door as though they had been swept aside to clear a path.

  Moving forward she kept her ears strained for even the slightest sound from deeper within the ruins that may betray the presence of whoever it was that had been maintaining the door. She spun around at the sound of more breaking pottery to find that the others had entered the ruins. Blaise had stumbled into one of the piles of broken pottery, as he was now backing away with a sheepish look on his face.

  While she watched them, Sofie did her best to calm her racing heart and make sure that her face showed none of the fear that had coursed through her mind at the sound. Once she was sure that her mask was back in place she started to make her way back towards where the others stood watching her.

  “Is it just me or does this place feel strange to any of you?” Alarne stood looking around as though he was searching for something “Almost as though we’re being watched…” he trailed off as he turned to look at each of them in turn, looking as though he hoped he was just imagining it.

  Now that he mentioned it, ever since she had opened the door she had felt uneasy “Well, the door looks like it gets a lot of use and it looked like someone had cleared a path through the pottery. So it’s possible, if not very likely, that there’s someone else in here.” While she spoke Blaise looked around nervously and Runa drew her axe from where it hung at her waist.

  Stepping forward Runa spoke “Sofie, do you think you’ll be able to scout ahead?” She nodded in response and Runa continued “Alarne, go with her just in case something happens, Blaise and I will follow a short distance behind as the rear guard. Any objections?” Even though she had asked, the look she gave each of them said that this was how they were going to do this.

  Looking to Alarne, she saw him steel himself before he started towards the hallway on the other side of the hall. As she followed him Sofie glanced back to see Runa watching them go, with a look of apprehension on her face, and Blaise doing his best to stay out of Runa’s line of sight. As they reached the hallway, she spoke “Alarne, stay behind me and be careful where you put your feet, I’ll warn you when I can but there might be things I miss.”

  “Right, I’m sure we’ll be fine. How’s your wrist feeling?” He gave her a look of concern that at any other time would have annoyed her.

  Rolling her wrist Sofie felt a twinge of pain that told her it wasn’t fully healed yet. Smiling she reassured him that she was fine “It’s never felt better. Now we’d best get started before Runa decides we’re taking too long” and with that she slipped through into the darkness of the hallway.

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