Chapter 62 Writer's POV
As the king said "Into the temple," a group of 9 soldiers tried to walk in cautiously, leading the way for the rest of the party. But the moment they stepped across the threshold, a burst of fierce, unnatural flames erupted from the darkness within. The 9 soldiers were incinerated in an instant, burnt to ash by the sudden blaze that seemed to come from nowhere. Their screams were brief, cut short by the speed of the inferno.
The rest of the party stumbled back in shock, shielding their faces from the intense heat. "Witchcraft!" someone shouted. The king's face darkened with anger and caution.
Duke Ryker squinted into the temple. "Traps," he muttered. "We need another way in. Or a way to disable these traps."
But obstacles now lay ahead. The path into the temple was blocked by an unseen barrier of flames that could incinerate anyone who tried to enter. The party could hear movements from within the temple – shuffling sounds, whispers in that unearthly language of the black witches. Shadows seemed to writhe on the walls like living darkness.
Onyi swallowed hard. "What if we wait? See if the... the magic fades?"
The king shook his head. "We need that gold. We push on."
The king's determination to get the gold pushed the party to think of alternatives. Duke Ryker examined the temple walls, looking for hidden passages or weaker points in the structure. Onyi stayed close, watching as Duke Ryker ran his hands over ancient stones, feeling for any anomaly.
After several minutes of searching, Duke Ryker stopped at a section of the wall away from the main entrance. "Here," he said lowly. "This stone feels... different. Might be a hidden mechanism."
The king joined him. With caution, Duke Ryker pressed the stone. A section of the wall slid open silently, revealing a narrow passage into the temple – a passage the main trap hadn't activated.
"A secret way," the king said. "We use this."
The party began to move into the passage, fewer soldiers going first with caution. As they entered, the shuffling sounds and whispers from within the temple grew louder again. The air in the passage was thick with the scent of incense and something like decay.
Onyi entered with the others, his heart pounding. The passage led deeper into the temple, twisting into darkness. They were avoiding the main trap but were now in narrower confines with no clear idea what waited ahead.
Suddenly, ahead in the passage, shadows coalesced into shapes. Figures. Hooded figures of the black witches stood in the passage ahead, silent in the darkness.
The hooded figures of the black witches stood silently in the passage ahead, their faces hidden in shadows beneath the hoods. The air seemed to grow colder, and the scent of incense thickened. The party halted, hands on weapons, waiting for what the witches would do.
The king stepped forward slightly. "We mean to take the gold," he said, his voice firm.
The witches didn't move or speak. Then, without warning, they raised their hands. From their fingers, tendrils of dark mist began to curl out, creeping toward the party like living smoke. The mist carried an eerie whisper – a chant in that unearthly language of the black witches.
The soldiers shifted uneasily. Duke Ryker drew his sword partly. "We need to move," he said lowly. "Before the mist traps us."
The king nodded. "Forward."
The party moved cautiously toward the witches, weapons ready. But as they approached, the witches vanished into nothingness. The mist dissipated. The passage ahead was clear – but the party now heard a low, pulsing drumbeat from deeper in the temple.
"The gold's chamber?" Onyi whispered.
Duke Ryker nodded. "Sounds like it. Careful now."
As the party moved cautiously toward the witches, weapons ready, the hooded figures didn't vanish harmlessly. Instead, with a sudden scream like a thousand whispers, the witches transformed. They became swirling spirits of darkness, their hoods billowing like dark wings. The spirits lunged at the party.
In a blur of shadowy movement, the deadly spirits struck. Five of the party – soldiers caught off guard – were engulfed by the swirling darkness. The spirits twisted around them, and the soldiers let out brief, choked screams as they were torn apart by unseen forces. The other soldiers stumbled back, horrified.
The king's face was grim. "Back! Get back!"
Duke Ryker shouted orders, trying to regroup the party. Onyi stumbled away from the chaos, his heart pounding wildly. The spirits of the witches dissipated as suddenly as they'd attacked, leaving behind the bodies of the five fallen soldiers – broken, lifeless forms on the passage floor.
The party now numbered 24. The pulsing drumbeat from deeper in the temple continued, growing louder. The path ahead seemed fraught with more dangers.
"We push on," the king said, his voice hard. "We get the gold.