Tyrin fell to the ground with a thud. When he looked up from the bottom of
the pit, he saw the Hunter tear the pole to pieces and scatter the
remains. A few scraps of wood fell
on top of Tyrin before he could get to his feet. Then the spirit turned its ghastly face towards him and
chuckled, holding out a small shard of crystal. It sang a soft, clear tone and emanated a deep blue
light. The sound was soon joined
by a second voice, then several.
Tyrin and Morra looked down to the bottom of the pit. One by one, critters about the size of
a gelfling's hand worked their way through the earthen walls and paused near Tyrin. Their eyes reflected the deep blue of
the crystal as their wings fluttered together, creating their low thrum. In a flash, Tyrin scrambled to the far
wall and got to his feet. He
counted twenty of them. Each one moved
about on four sharp legs, using strange, jerking motions. But it was the needle-like beaks that
caught his attention.
"Peymakan!" Tyrin said. Although he pulled out his knife and
brandished it at the large insects, it did not give him any sense of safety.
"Hhahhh… hahhhh!" The Hunter moved closer to the edge of the pit. Morra could see that Minn's
crystalweave cloak now hung from his side. "I see the young gelfling is familiar with my pets. They'll make you sleep forever,
gelfling."
One of the peymakan jumped onto Tyrin's leg and stuck
him with its beak. There was no
pain. He swatted it away with the
blade and yelled at them. Already
he could feel a numbness spreading into his leg. The peymakan backed up for a moment and vibrated their wings
in unison. The sound grew louder,
more menacing.
"Haahh hahh hahhh! Make him sleep, my pets. But do not kill him.
He will provide essence to the Emperor." The crystal's light changed hue, from blue to purple to red. It, too, began to hum with the note of
the insects.
Tyrin pressed his back against the wall again and
looked up at Morra and the Hunter.
A feeling of despair came over him as he realized that no matter what he
did, he could not get out of the situation. The peymakan drew closer and surrounded him.
"Hmmmmmmm…" It was Morra's silvery voice rising above the thrum,
matching the tone. The insects
hesitated at the sound.
"Quiet, you!" the Hunter said and struck
Morra. Her white locks fell around
her face as she swung from the blow.
The peymakan continued moving towards Tyrin. He jabbed his knife into the wall and took
his gemshorn in both hands. After
a quick breath, the instrument was pressed against his lips in a familiar
kiss. Serenity flowed forth as a
soft, dulcet note hung in the air.
Instantly, the insects halted and changed their tone. Tyrin followed their new note, then led
them to another. They followed
suit. The light of the crystal shard
shifted once again, going from red to a gentle white. Slowly, the insects backed away from Tyrin and wiggled into
the earthen walls with their sharp legs, disappearing.
"No!!
My pets! This useless
crystal! I will never trust that
bent-snouted thief, again!" the Hunter cried and threw the shard to the
ground. "Then I am just going
to have to save this one to eat later." He moved away from the pit and knelt down by the trunk of
the tree. There, he began to
fashion a covering for the pit with all four hands working in tandem.
Tyrin wasted no time in looking for a way out. He'd made it this far; he knew there
had to be an escape. It only took
a moment of feeling around in the loose dirt before he found more scraps of
wood that had fallen into the pit with him. It was easy enough to work into small stakes, which he
stuffed into his belt
When he was ready, Tyrin jumped up to grab the spear
that still stuck out from the wall.
He pulled himself up onto it and pulled two stakes from his belt. With all his might, he drove them into
the wet dirt near his midsection, followed by two more at head-height. In this manner, he began to climb out
of the pit.
The speed of the Hunter's hands was incredible. Tyrin was only half-way up the pit wall
when the Hunter started to drag the completed covering back over to where Morra
hung, still and limp. "I must
check my other traps. You will
wait hhhhhere. If they escaped,
doubtless they will come for you.
Now scream, gelfling. Bring
them hhhhhahh... here." He
walked up to her and reached up to grab her leg. Before his hand reached her, however, she kicked hard and
struck him in the head. The Hunter
reeled back with a loud cry and grabbed at his face, dropping the covering on
the ground. Something had changed
in the spirit. Somehow, that
unexpected blow had made him more tangible. She could no longer see through him. His furs no longer looked as fine. In his hands he held a mask they hadn't
seen before, which he kept tight against his unseen face.
Tyrin had no time. He pulled himself up to his highest handholds and pushed off
of them into a leap. His fingers
grasped at the edge of the pit but started to slip a little. Drawing his legs up near his belly, Tyrin
gave one final kick and jumped to the far side of the pit. The cold ground hit him in the chest,
leaving his arms free to help him clamber out of his temporary prison. The Hunter was still hunched over,
working at his mask. Tyrin ran
towards him, but his foot slipped on something small and round and he tumbled
over. When he looked down, he saw
the shard of crystal laying at his feet.
The Hunter affixed the mask and turned towards his
prey. Once again, he was a full
spirit. Once again, he moved with
a celerity that caught Tyrin by surprise.
The gelfling reached for his knife and let out a gasp when he realized
that he had left it at the bottom of the pit. Before he had a chance to reach for the shard, the powerful
grip of the Hunter was on his leg, lifting him upside-down into the air. The last of the stakes fell to the
ground; he just managed to grab the gemshorn by its strap before it, too, fell out
of reach.
[ Link to Part 6 ] -- [ Link to Part 1 ] -- [ Link to Part 8 ]
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