Possessing the Grimstone (22 page)

The people of Norrow led them up the hill along a stony path, and came to a set of wooden gates. The gates were opened with a pulley system. Inside, the village thrived. Carts and wagons were filled with fruit and hay; livestock roamed behind fenced areas along huts; goats, fowl, and pigs ran and called among the other noises.

Dogs barked at the strangers in the village. More smoked fished hung from makeshift racks. Smoldering fires cooked stews and puddings. They noticed the people using tools made of bones and wearing clothes made of animal hides. They used every part of the animals they killed. Tolan admired how self-sufficient they seemed.

The armed men returned their spears to a rack beside a huge ceremonial hut, and dispersed into the village.

Their leader stopped the group and turned to Tolan. “Let us share a smoking pipe of herbs and talk at the circle. He pointed to a circle of flat stones with a bonfire in the center.

Tolan and the group took a seat on the stones. The sunlight grew shallow, and shades of purple and scarlet painted the sky as night grew near. Women threw more firewood into the fire, and served everyone a drink.

“Nectar from our flowers. We save it for special occasions. Your visit to us is, indeed, such an occasion.”

“We are honored by your kindness.” Tolan took a drink. It was the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted. It ran smooth on his tongue, and tickled his senses. Inside him, nightmare images of being drugged or sacrificed to an unknown tribal god flashed by. He chuckled and drank some more.

Pim could not get enough of it, and actually begged some of the women for more.

“I am Rasa, King of the Cree. We are one of the seven tribes of Norrow.”

I am Tolan of the High Guard from Cardoon. My comrades…” he gestured to Pim.

“I am Pim, from the Wivering of Gonnish.”

“Shannara, your majesty, Queen of the D’Elkyrie. My seers, Panno and Jodan, and my warriors.”

“Drith, King of Glenghorra.”

“Where in Norrow are you heading?”

“To your highest point,” Tolan replied, taking a puff of the pipe Rasa had just handed him.

“The highest point?” There was a look of concern on Rasa’s face. “That would be Hills Mount… where the Lost Caves are.”

“Lost Caves?” Shannara asked. She rubbed her arms. The hair stood up on the back of her neck. She turned and looked up at the dusky sky. The shadow of a great hill loomed in the distance. “I feel magic near.”

“Magic is banished here,” Rasa said. “It hasn’t been used in nearly a thousand years.”

“Well it’s here, despite its banishment,” Shannara said. “In the caves you spoke of.”

“The Lost Caves are cursed. None of the seven tribes go there.”

“Then that is where we must go,” Shannara said finally.

“We know your people fear the caves,” Tolan said. “But we must go there to save our lands.”

“This power is dark. It is dangerous,” Rasa said. “It could destroy you.”

“We must take that chance,” Tolan said. “We appreciate your concerns, but we have great strength, and a duty to our people. May we have your permission?”

Rasa nodded his head. “No one will stop you, strangers. But no one will help you, either.”

“Fair enough.”

“Stay with us, rest, and partake in our bounty.”

“You are gracious. We would love to stay, but only for the night. In the morning, we will continue our mission.”

Again, Rasa nodded and passed his pipe to Pim. The Wivering took one drag and coughed and coughed. He gagged as smoke trickled from his nose.

Tolan laughed and patted Pim on the back to clear his lungs. Pim turned to him, half-smiling. Tolan was glad to see it.

They smoked and drank with the King of the Cree in the night, and after the moon rose, they slept by the fire as the village fell into a peaceful silence.

###

Before they left the village, King Rasa offered Tolan a totem: a bird’s claw adorned with beads and shells. “To protect you from the dark,” the King had said. Tolan tucked it into his pack, shaking his head at the superstition of a magic-fearing people. The irony was amusing, but Tolan found them to be very enlightened for a primitive tribe. His people could learn a few things from them.

Within an hour, the group was scaling Hills Mount, a rocky, tree root-laden hill that seemed more imposing than the enchanting emerald green hills they had encountered.

At the top of the hill was a huge cave opening, nearly rising from the ground like the maw of a gigantic animal. They smelled something foul as they approached the mouth. Just inside, the passage went straight down into the darkness. Jagged rocks formed a natural stairway.

Shannara and Drith took torches from their packs and ignited them with flint and stone. Tolan signled for everyone to draw their weapons, and they descended.

The cave walls were littered with scratches and strewn with cobwebs. Dust and dirt covered the ground, looking undisturbed. There was an ancient feel within. The air reeked of musty, thick age, and stale rot.

As they went further below, the air grew moist, the walls became wet, and the ceiling began to drip. Fungus sprouted on every surface in colors of rust and dark green. Mushrooms appeared in clusters on the ground; some of the glowed with phosphorescence.

“The magic is strong here… and getting stronger.” Shannara twitched. “I can feel it. It’s here somewhere.”

“Are you alright?” Pim asked.

“It is almost too much for me to channel.”

“The cave delves deeper, but our sight is being obstructed,” Panno said. “Our vision may be blinded soon.”

“The stone must be interfering with your sight, dear one.” Shannara said. “Or it is trying to block you.”

“Odd, it’s a stone, yet it’s alive,” Pim said.

“Its magic is alive,” Shannara said.

Finally they entered a wider chamber. Its walls were covered in carvings similar to those of the First People. These were different in that there were no runes, and the figures were not those of the First People.

There were carvings of the stone in various places, fully intact, with energy radiating from it. The people on the wall wore masks and were more than likely descedants of the tribes of Norrow, except smaller.

In some drawings, the masked people wielded magic and summoned the stone from a mystical doorway, as if it had been conjured or teleported.

“The stone… it might not be from our world,” Tolan said. “That is, if this shows what I think it does.”

“Hey, look, over here…” Pim called the others to a fissure in the wall, a crack that led into a secondary passage. A green glow flickered from the other side.

They gathered around the crack in the wall, and Tolan gave it a kick. The wall broke apart, rubble fell, and a new doorway appeared. They moved through the chamber, the floor thick with mud.

Pim looked down and saw the mud ooze. It had moved. He froze. “Something’s in here.”

“What?” Tolan readied his blade. “Where is it?”

“On the ground,” Pim yelled as the mud slithered away from the group and attached to a pile of rocks.

The mud doubled in size, the rocks clung to it like bones, and it formed into a hulking figure. A mouth yawned open, mud seeping out of it. Eyes tore open on a bulbous head, eyes glowing green: the same green as the Neshing fire. The thing sprouted massive arms with fists like mallets.

“It’s a Golem!” Drith said.

It roared at the group and stomped toward them with thunderous steps. Despite its size, the Golem moved fast. It rushed at Tolan, who leaped out of its way. Shannara dropped her torch and flipped toward it. She landed a swift kick, but it had no effect. Swinging both dagblades, she only scraped across it, mud covering her knives to their hilts.

The Golem swung at her, but she ducked and rolled out of the way. Drith let out a war cry and raced toward the beast. He jabbed his serrated blade into the creature’s side; it bellowed and lifted both fists into the air. Drith did not see the blow fall.

Pim did. He raced across the chamber, unleashing his fleet, and tackled Drith in a flash, pushing him out of the way. The fists came down hard, and missed.

Drith looked up at Pim and nodded his thanks.

The Golem recovered and lashed out at one the D’Elkyrie warriors, instead. The giant fists crushed her.

Tolan and the other D’Elkyrie attacked in unison, blades clattering against stone, mud sliding down them all. “I cannot fight against rock and mud.” Tolan groaned as he was forced to drop his sword.

The Golem swung at him, but he ducked to the ground as the fists bashed the wall, debris raining down into the chamber.

The seers, Panno and Jodan, huddled together, scampering out of the way, but the Golem spotted them. It spun around and roared, stomping toward the seers, and blocking their escape. It seized Jodan and drove him into the ceiling, crushing him immediately.

Shannara screamed a heart-shattering, spirit-igniting sound. She ran up the nearest cave wall and flipped through the air, landing on the creature’s shoulders.

Digging both blades into its head, she stabbed it over and over, but nothing seemed to slow the creature down. Shannnara wrapped her blades around its throat and sawed away as hard as she could.

The Golem stomped its feet, hammered its fists against the walls, and reared back, throwing Shannara from its body. She soared through the chamber, landing hard on her back. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked up to see the Golem reaching for Panno.

Drith leaped through the air at it, but it backhanded him to the ground. The Golem was determined to get to the other seer.

Shannara’s blood boiled; she struggled to get up, but yelped in pain. Pim dashed to her side. “You’re hurt.”

“I think my arm is broken.”

“Stay here, I will protect you.”

“No, protect Panno. I can take care of myself. It’s after him. Please, Pim, please don’t let it take him away from me!”

Pim stood up straight and dashed toward Panno as Shannara felt something brush against her skin. She looked over her shoulder to see a pit through a small crawlspace. It glowed and pulsed with green ethereal light. She reached her good arm toward the light, and a bolt of green energy shot into her.

The D’Elkyrie leader sat up and directed the green energy at the Golem. Power coiled around the beast, its stony flesh cracking before it exploded. Stone shards shot around the chamber, and a cloud of dust choked the air.

Pim and Panno were safe. Everyone stood and stared at Shannara.

Tolan stepped toward her. “How did you…?”

“The piece of the stone,” she pointed to the crawlspace. “It’s right through there.”

Tolan helped her to her feet, and they approached the crawlspace.

Drith pointed his torch at the opening. “None of us can fit through there.”

“I know one who can,” Tolan said. He turned to Pim.

“Barely, but I think I can manage.”

“Just hold your breath.”

Pim smiled, his eyes brightened, and he handed Tolan his sword.

He reached the crawlspace and got down on his knees. Pushing his head through first, he wriggled and squeezed his chest through, then crawled on his elbows. He slipped through the passage and reached the pit, the green light bathing his face. For a moment, he was transfixed. The light looked so beautiful. He sat and stared at it, letting its warmth caress him. Then he knew what to do.

He reached into the pit, and his arm sank into the muck. It was slick and wet, and black. He stretched and stretched until finally…

The piece of stone came into his grip and he ripped it out of the trench. Sludge and mud dripped off of his arm. He moved back to the crawlspace opening and squeezed his way through.

They all looked at it, and at Pim. Green light showered them. A jagged piece of green rock sat in the palm of the boy’s hand. They were speechless.

Pim moved past them to Shannara and held the stone up to her arm. “Heal her,” he whispered.

Green light enveloped Shannara’s arm. Her eyes fluttered. Pim pulled the stone away. “My arm… the pain is gone.”

Pim smiled.

“Careful, Pim,” Tolan said. “It is very powerful.”

“Maybe I should carry it,” Drith said. “My will is strong.”

“Pim should keep it,” Tolan said. “He is the most untouched among us: untouched by war, or by darkness. He is innocent.”

“Innocent?” Drith muttered.

Pim tucked the stone into his pack and eyed Drith. “I will carry it.” He said firmly.

“Very good,” Tolan said. “Now let us go quickly. We need to get back to our lands.”

They started off, and Pim watched as Shannara’s head hung low. The loss of one of her husbands weighed heavily on her. She walked close to Panno, not taking her eyes off of him.

Pim felt sad for her, but the stone couldn’t heal this pain, only time could.

###

On the ship back to Fionngall, the group gathered in talks about the next piece of the stone and its location. Pim felt the weight of his piece in his pack; it made his toes tingle.

The entire crew of the ship retreated below decks. They feared this magical item: its power actually made the wind blow the sails harder, and it spooked the lot of them.

Tolan looked up at Pim. “Your eyes… they are shining.”

Shannara took a closer look. “Like when you ran across the swamp water of Mort A’ghas.”

“How curious,” Pim said. “I do feel different, as if I could run across the sea right now.”

“The other piece,” Shannara continued. “What else did the Lich Lord tell you? Where did he say it would be?”

“I didn’t understand him. It was wrapped in another riddle.”

“Tell us, anyway,” Drith said from the back.

Pim shot him a look before turning back to Shannara and Tolan. “He told me the last piece was at times in my feet, and at other times, beneath them.”

“Beneath them?”

Pim shrugged.

“Anything else?”

“It was the same place my heart was.”

“Pim, that’s easy,” Tolan said. “Where has your heart been throughout this journey? What have you been worried about most?”

“My family,” his eyes widened. “My home… Gonnish? All this time!”

“Yes!” Shannara said. “It makes sense. Pim, your fleet… has any other Wivering been known to run across deep water?”