Sherlock Holmes: The Shadow From Beyond (19 page)

Of what origin the caves come from none can say, accept that they have been there before the founding of the town itself, and well before the stone ring was erected nearby, which is ancient in itself.

“Zo rumoured of being haunted by zee unknown are zey, zat few locals go near zee area out of fear. Perhaps it iz from zese ruins that the town rezeived its name.” added one of the female patrons with a sly grin. “Be very careful if you venture zat way, und stay clear of those caves if you value your life.”

Watson gave Holmes a curious glance that the detective returned in kind.

After obtaining directions to these aforementioned attractions, Holmes snuck out one more piece of information from the pretty barmaid. “It seems a rather quiet time of year for tourism Elsa, the lack of foreigners has allowed us the pick of your best rooms. You seem to have many vacancies. At least the locals still fill the dining part of the inn with coin.”

The barmaid replied in rather charming English, so perfect that it surprised the two adventurers. “True it’s quiet these days compared to other months, yet a large group of tourists did arrived, by two black carriages, just a few of days ago. We were hoping to fill most of our empty rooms with them, but instead they have rented out a private cottage on the town’s south road. They rented it from old Manfred over there,” she gestured toward to a man at the bar. Both companions looked over his way. The older, obviously drunk gentleman, with thick moustache, raised a glass to salute his good fortune.

“It was one of my cottages they rented. (Hic!)” The man spoke in a thickly accented and slurred German, which Holmes translated for Watson’s benefit: “Queer folk indeed that lot and a large group it was.” he continued. “But the nature of their travels are not my business. They had requested utmost privacy, paying handsomely in advance. (Hic!) A handful of gold coins enough to keep me in ale all month, and my mouth busy sipping and not talking. No news of theirs will I worry about or share other than that they all left earlier today, the entire lot, on a day trip of some kind down the South road, allowing my wife a chance to service the cottage sooner than expected. (Hic!) She should be well rested by the time I get home. Then I will wear her out once more! Heh, heh, heh.” Manfred lewdly chuckled.

Holmes had heard all he needed, and after paying the barmaid, whom Watson had most frequently complimented in his red faced way, the two set off again to secure some minor provisions and a carriage for their trip down the South road.

The Road South

They stopped only once, to request directions from an old man tending his crops, who pointed with crooked smile to a side road that branched off the main artery slightly ahead. They guided the horses to the entry and were soon plodding down an old dirt lane overgrown with weeds from disuse. Holmes pointed out the recent carriage tracks that furrowed the muddy ground ahead. “We are on the correct trail Watson, Lebda’s group surely passed this way.” He whipped the horse lightly and the trap careened forward. Watson held on tightly so as not to be thrown overboard. Soon they arrived in an area strangely devoid of much vegetation, only a scattering of stunted groves of twisted black trees grew about, their skeletal branches reached up like hands from out of a grave. Scraggly thorn bushes and yellowing tufts of dried grass were the only other growth apparent in the dry, dusty soil. They noticed no birds in the sky, nor rodents scurrying about, not even an insect buzzed about to annoy them. The entire scene was one of silence and death.

The lane lead down a small hill and through a shallow valley, ending in a rough clearing of packed dirt. In the face of a low cliff was the entrance to a medium sized cave. The cave gaped open like a hungry mouth waiting to be fed. A circle of large stone pillars loomed ominously upon a rise behind the cliff in the distance. A faded sign, tilted and well weathered by the wind, warned in large red print: ‘Gefahr! Wegbleiben! - Prendre garde! Séjour-dehors!

- Danger! Stay Out! ‘

As Watson slowly approached the cave entrance he felt a chill run up his spine. This is all familiar he thought, I have been here before, but how? He stared into the cave, looked up at the cliff face and then over his shoulder. In the distance he could see fields that spread out before him, off in the further distance was the silhouette of a large town. My dreams! he realized. “I have seen all this in my dreams!” he declared aloud. He turned to Holmes.

“In my dreams this place is the origin of a terrible disaster! From this spot an evil entity is released upon all mankind!”

“Yes Watson, the images are similar. I have had those dreams as well of late and can attest that our visions have somewhat become reality.” the detective replied. “Strange omens indeed, but ones we must disregard for the moment. Other needs demand our immediate attention.”

Watson noticed that the wooden boards that had previously sealed the entrance now lay discarded a few feet away, an abandoned crowbar alongside. “Someone has opened the entry Holmes, they have already descended.”

Holmes heard a light whining from nearby. He explored cautiously around a bend in the cliff face a few feet away. Behind a grove of those twisted trees he discovered four horse drawn carriages and their mounts secured to the trunks of these trees by leather bindings. The carriages were empty of their occupants and the horses seemed content as they grazed on the sparse yellowing grass that surround them. Watson lumbered over and patted one of the horses along its neck as it chomped away, the bovine pawed the earth in delight. Two of the carriages where of large size and basic design, the amount of dirt that had collected on their sides indicated to Holmes hat they must have travelled a long distance to reach this destination. The other more luxurious yet smaller carriages where most probably those of the Count himself.

“We have found them Watson! Our hunches have proved correct thank heavens!!” Holmes exclaimed. “His party has swelled in number. Others have joined Lebda here as well.” He examined the carriages closely, going over both interior and exterior with his acute eye. “Notice the mud on the two larger carriages is of different hue and consistency than those of the two smaller ones, they have journeyed from different regions of the countryside than Lebda. The horses leading these transports are wearier from travel as well, indicating a far longer journey. It seems Lebda has associates located in all parts of Europe and beyond. Based on the size of these carriages there may be as many as twenty of his cohorts with him now. We must be on our guard as we are greatly outnumbered. And with very little time to spare I’m sure.” Holmes checked his pocket watch, “Strange.” He muttered. “My watch has stopped working, the hands have not moved since 5:41 pm!”

Watson also scrutinized his watch,” Mine has also stopped, and at the same exact time as yours!” He looked to his companion for an explanation.

“I know that we have been here for at least ten minutes, therefore they must have stopped when we entered into the actual valley.” This region has an odd effect over machines it seems, perhaps some magnetic disruption created by mineral deposits nearby? I cannot say exactly.” He glanced up into the darkening skies overhead. “If my calculations are correct, the alignment of the stars concerned in Lebda’s charts will come to fruition in mere hours! Secure your revolver Watson as the time for action is upon us! I fear the fate of the world depends on our abilities alone, a power beyond logic and imagination may be unleashed and heaven help any that cross its path! Come my friend let us enter the mouth of the unknown, but always remain in close proximity as danger abounds!”

The electric torches they had brought along did not function, similarly affected by the scientific anomaly that plagued the area. “Back to wood and flint Watson my boy,” stated Holmes as he broke apart one of the discarded planks that had previously sealed the cave. He then wrapped some torn strips of fabric taken from an old blanket in their carriage about their ends. “Could you spare a light?” he asked Watson, who fumbled about his coat for the matches.

Into the Depths

They had entered the cave entrance cautiously, ever vigilant of the unknown that awaited them below. A cool upward draught fed the hungry flames of their glowing torches which crackled wildly. The flickering light cast furtive shadows upon the walls about them.

Holmes walked slightly ahead, his torch, held at arm’s length in front of him, illuminated only a few feet of the dark passage ahead. He peered deeply into the empty void beyond its sputtering glow, attempting to focus on the narrow path that wound ever downward. “This is how Ortega must have felt when he fled into that unknown darkness of that grotto so many years ago,” whispered Watson. “I wonder what similar horrors await us in the depths below.”

“We shall soon find out old chap, listen! What is that sound?” replied Holmes as he strained to focus on the faint audible beat emanating from far ahead.

A low drumming rhythm resonated from the depths, it echoed upward and flowed about the two as they crept forward. An alien language could faintly be heard intermixed within the frantic tattoo, a sweetly hypnotic chant that repeated itself over and over again:

Iä! Iä!

Cthulhu Fhtagn!

Iä! Iä!

Cthulhu Fhtagn!

“The ceremony has started Watson! We must press onward!” Holmes beckoned and quickened his pace.

They continued along the main route avoiding the multiple smaller tunnel passages that veined off from the main artery they travelled. Holmes continued to lead the way; he focused on the mantra that ushered to him from below for direction. Once, when the drumming seemed to echo from almost all the side passages at once, he adjusted his bearings by holding his torch aloft before these entrances and noting the movement of its flickering flame. Moments later, satisfied with the results of his analysis he quickly bounded down an opening on the left, and deeper into the abyss.

Watson followed closely, relying on his friend to guide him. He was completely disoriented and could hardly tell up from down, let alone East from West, without Holmes he would be surely lost. The atmosphere of being in an unfamiliar and abnormal environment, the almost impenetrable blackness that surrounded him, the gravity of their task, it all set Watson on edge and left him with a very uneasy stomach. He felt completely out of his element and fought hard against the constant urge to panic.

Holmes, although obviously agitated, did his best to keep his composure and wits about him. Faced not only with the madness of the unknown that awaited them below, the two also experienced the claustrophobic horror of being trapped under tons of rock as it pressed in from all sides, it was like being in a giant tomb, buried alive. The pair kept close as they moved ever forward and down.

Eventually the cool draught of air flowed upward with greater velocity and soon the passage opened into an immense natural chamber. The space was so large that their torches no longer cast a glare on the walls about them, instead their glow faded off to be lost in the surrounding gloom. The sound of rushing water was heard raging as a subterranean river flowed deep within the chasm somewhere below them. Watson remembered the tales of sudden flooding mentioned earlier by the locals and gripped the wall more securely.

To continue forward entailed slow cautious movement along a narrow rock ledge that wound capriciously along the wall of the cavern. It was wide enough for only one of them to pass at a time, so Watson crept along closely behind Holmes,. Every so often he kicked loose stones over the precipice and into the seemingly endless pit below. He noticed the long pause that passed before the stones impacted the water that rushed deep below their perch, and shivered at how high up they must be. Over a hundred feet at least he surmised.

“This cave system is gigantic!” whispered Watson as he held tightly to the cliff face “Man alone could never have excavated this immense place, it must have been formed by the powers of nature.”

“A bit of both actually” Holmes replied, “and perhaps with the additional help of other forces beyond our range of imagination. Most of these caves were created naturally to be sure, but there are elements of craftsmanship intermixed as well. I have seen perfectly angled corners, vaulted ceilings and curving stairways that could only have been carved from the solid stone by human hands, and yet some passages look as if they had been burrowed directly through the actual rock itself, with walls of fused molten stone, definitely not the result of natural faults or fractures or human aid. Its true origins, I trust, will remain unknown but there is no denying the antiquity of this alien complex.”

They descended further into depths for what seemed like miles. The passage continued along through multiple natural caverns, hand carved rooms, and narrow spiral stairways. At one point they encountered a well of sorts, a circular hole in the floor that gave off the putrid smell of death and decay and echoed with the scratching sounds of something far below, something attempting to climb upwards. Both exchanged concerned glances and remained far from the edge of the aperture as they passed it by. All the while the drumming and chanting continued with their menacing cadence, growing louder as they move forward, ever urging them on.