The Cavern Door

Haldin approached the cavern door, cautiously drawing his blade as he went. It was a mild day, and the sun shown brightly upon the passageway. As Haldin made ready to enter, he ran through every item in his pack to make sure that every item he would need was in place. After rummaging through several scrolls, a number of potions and antidotes, and various other oddments, he straightened up and reached for the door handle. Suddenly there was a scrambling from the bushes behind him. Haldin spun around, his pack swinging free of his shoulders and landing on the soft earth near his feet.

What he saw next made his body go numb, for there in the bushes were not one, but three ragged, terrible looking creatures. Haldin had heard tell of such monsters, and knew them for Vermai at once. The Vermai held their noses to the air, as though searching for a lost scent. Haldin stood stock-still, for it was common knowledge that Vermai relied heavily on their olfactory senses to pinpoint prey, having terrible eyesight.

Luckily, the wind blew into Haldin's face, and away from the beasts, masking his scent. Then, an idea struck him. Moving slowly, Haldin reached into his fallen pack, extracting a scroll of glowing parchment. He read the incantation on it, concentrated, and then bellowed the words aloud, thrusting his hands forward and directing the spell toward the Vermai. Then, releasing his concentration, the spell soared forward connecting with all three creatures at once. The scroll crumbled to dust in Haldin's hands.

Throwing down the ashes, he drew his sword from the dirt where it had landed when the spell was cast, and strode forward. The spell had been a successful one, paralyzing all three Vermai before they were aware of it. Haldin came within a few feet of the first creature, which stood as though frozen, unblinking. He thrust his blade into it, and with a terrible screech, it fell forward dead, for the blade was enchanted with a powerful magical frost. Just as Haldin moved his sword against the second animal, there came a rough growling from the bushes to his left. Without even glancing in the direction of the sound, Haldin knew he had not paralyzed every Vermai in the area. To make matters worse, the Vermai he had attacked were beginning to stir, Haldin could see their eyes darting about in their sockets, peering at him with intent.

There was nothing to do but run. With a huge leap, Haldin overtook the nearest ledge, sliding nearly twenty paces, but when he reached the bottom he was already on his feet again, tearing across the windy grasslands. Soon the sounds of pursuit began to greet Haldin's ears; his mind was racing as fast as his tired feet. His experience with such creatures was minimal, and he had learned most of what he did know not first hand, but from the tales his older brother Heldin, a seasoned adventurer, had told him as a child. Yet the sounds of the Vermai were closing in on him. Haldin had been running for nearly ten minutes, and his endurance was beginning to give out.

Just as he was considering standing and fighting as best as he could, the sound of pursuit suddenly mingled with that of running water. Hope filled Haldin, and he burst forward with newfound strength. He knew that if he could only reach the source of that sound he would be saved, for the Vermai despised water. Then he saw it, a small, glistening body of water no more than fifty yards away. Haldin dashed towards it, the Vermai snapping at his heels. But just as he reached the shores of the small lake, they overtook him, and Haldin fought until he was knee-deep in the water, but his heavy iron shield was weighing him down immensely.

Suddenly, the largest Vermai delivered to Haldin a savage blow to the leg, and losing his balance, Haldin fell into the water and was completely submersed. Yet as he fell, his sword slipped from his hands and flew into the air. As it landed in the water, the frost enchantment it carried was released, and the surface of the lake was covered in a thick sheet of ice. Haldin was trapped beneath the surface, but the Vermai could not break through the ice to continue their attack. Holding his breath, Haldin abandoned his heavy shield and swam underwater to the other side of the lake. Then, unsheathing a handy silver dagger, he hacked an opening in the ice large enough to clamber through and onto the warm beach.

The Vermai, seeing their prey again, began to charge across the ice at Haldin, but just as they were halfway across, the enchantment wore off, and screeching loudly they were plunged into the lake. Then Haldin, seeing his chance, hauled his bonemold bow from his back and loosed an arrow for each Vermai, eliminating all three as they struggled to escape the water. At last, exhausted, relieved, and his muscles quivering, he lay down on the sand to rest.

When strength had returned to his fatigued muscles, Haldin thought about lighting a fire and making camp, but alas, he realized that he had left his tinderbox, along with his other supplies, back at the place where the Vermai had attacked him. Deciding to leave right away, Haldin scooped his shield out of the water, but could not find his sword which had drifted down the stream when its enchantment was spent. After searching the bank in vain, he gave up and began his slow trek back to the cavern door.

When at last he arrived, Haldin stooped to pick up his pack from the ground, but there was movement behind him. Looking wildly about, Haldin drew his small silver dagger, his only remaining weapon, just in time to see a Scrib scramble from the bushes and into a nearby fissure. Laughing, Haldin sheathed his blade once more, and without another look at the worn cavern door, grabbed his pack and began the long journey home.