User:Peregrine2976/Fanfiction/The Fall of Azjol'Nerub/Part Five

Part V The trek to the top of the mountain was riddled with treacherous pitfalls and places where parts of the cliff had fallen away. In places such as these, the Nerubians had to go single file along the edge of the cliff, slowing their progress considerably. By the time the steep incline began to even out, the sun had already moved far past noon.

“Elites, be ready for anything,” ordered Ajar’Zarak softly. “There’s no telling what kind of danger the ancient magic here poses, and there are also the Storm Giants.”

Nodding, his elites did not draw their weapons, but their arms tightened and he saw more than one hand flex compulsively.

They moved cautiously up the path. Ahead, he could see where it ended as it came out on top of one of twin mountains called the Storm Peaks.

He frowned. Something did not seem right. There was too much shadow on the top – he could see that. It should have been bright as noon here on the mountaintop, but something cast it into shadow.

As he and his elites reached the peak, he drew in his breath sharply. “By the gods,” he whispered.

Two massive pillars flanked gargantuan stone doors. On either side, thick stone walls held up a domed roof. The design of the pillars and roof were such that they subtly interwove and gracefully curved and arched, but in such a way that the eye was drawn naturally to the great stone doors, that were plain and devoid of ornament.

“Go alert the emperor,” said Ajar’Zarak softly. Their way was barred by this structure – If they wanted to get by, they would have to enter it. One of his elites nodded and hurried off.

He returned a short while later. “The emperor has decreed that we shall pass through. We are to go first to draw any enemies or traps we may encounter.”

Nodding, Ajar’Zarak drew himself up. “Let’s move, elites!” he barked. They moved towards the great stone doors.

The doors should have been nigh impossible to move, but when he reached out and touched one, it opened softly. Moving cautiously inside, he saw that he was in some kind of entrance hall. Passages split off in every direction on either side of the hall. As he entered, the Legacy Stone throbbed painfully around his neck.

Dismay gripped him. If they had to explore every single passage to find their way out, they could be in here for weeks. The Legacy Stone throbbed again, this time with greater force.

Following some unbidden instinct, he drew out the Stone. As soon as it was in the open, the bright glow around it shot straight towards one of the passages. Doubtfully, Ajar’Zarak went to the passage the Stone had indicated. Looking inside, he saw that it was just another passage like any other, yet the voices that whispered in his mind whenever he wielded the Legacy Stone told him that this was the way to go.

Signaling to his elites, he entered the passageway. More of the graceful pillars lined both sides of the passage, and far ahead it turned to the right abruptly. He moved forward. As he walked down the passageway, he saw carvings on the walls. Some looked vaguely familiar to him, though from where he could not guess.

Just before he reached the place where the abrupt change of direction occurred, his instinct, developed from years of training as a soldier, kicked in. He jumped backwards just as the floor beneath him fell away. Looking down, he saw that the bottom of the pit was lined with spikes.

Panting, he motioned one of his elites forward. The elite hastened towards him.

“Alert the others – there are booby traps in here.”

The elite quietly moved through the column of warriors, passing the word.

Once had caught his breath, Ajar’Zarak continued moving down the corridor, being more careful this time. When he came to the spot where the floor had fallen away, he carefully edged along the side, where a small portion of floor had remained. As he moved deeper into the ancient structure, his natural quickness and training helped him avoid three more collapsing floors and two areas where spears had jabbed out from the wall.

Finally, he saw an end to the passageway ahead. It was just another room, but he would be happy just to get out of the bobby-trapped corridor. He cautiously looked in. It appeared to be a gallery of some kind, or perhaps some kind of library, for the carvings covered the walls here.

Moving towards one wall, he examined the carvings. Some of the symbols were tantalizingly familiar, like a half-remembered dream. Acting on some unbidden instinct, he pulled out the Legacy Stone again, and to his surprise, he found that he could understand the carvings in the golden glow of the artifact.

“Overseer?” It was Aran’Jakur. “What do they say?”

“They appear to be recordings of some kind,” replied Ajar’Zarak, frowning as he read. “There are several references to some form of people called ‘Travelers’, who…” his eyes widened. “…who created all life in the world.” Aran’Jakur gasped. “The World-Makers?”

“It would appear so. And… here. A reference to five gods called ‘The Ancient Ones’.” It seems they were monsters of indescribable evil, who… ‘ruled over a bloody chaos’… until the Travelers came. They fought them, and imprisoned them for eternity. And here…” he stopped. His eyes widened, and his face paled. He tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat. Unable to speak, he simply pointed at the carvings depicting the Ancient Ones.

He had seen that same carving many times before. He had seen it whenever he had looked over the door to the great temple of Azjol’Nerub.

The Great One was a being of unutterable evil. An Ancient One. <<< Part IV --- Part VI >>>