Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [38]
They stand in the darkness and James is about to make his orb when lights begin to appear all over the floor of the cavern. Ghostly apparitions begin to take shape.
Miko screams and James holds aloft the Star, but nothing happens. The ghosts all look to him, give him a slight bow and then begin to fade away. After the last ghost had faded away and the cavern is once more plunged into darkness, James creates his orb.
“What was that?” Jiron asks, referring to the ghosts.
“I think they were the souls of the people who had been sacrificed here long ago,” he reasons. “Though we may never know for sure.”
“Let’s get out of here!” Miko says, not wanting to spend another moment within this cavern.
“See no reason to stay,” agrees James. “I don’t feel anymore magic being worked here, the barrier may be down now.”
“Then what are we waiting for,” exclaims Miko as he shoves past James and moves quickly up the stairs to the level above.
Turning, James follows him up the stairs and they make their way back through the complex to the winding stairs that lead up to the surface. He pauses at the top and cautiously peers out into the courtyard. When no apparitions are apparent he motions for the others to follow him. “Looks like the spirits we saw were the ones who had been up here,” he says.
“I hope so,” Miko exclaims. “I don’t want to stay here any longer.”
“I agree,” Jiron says as he moves to the fore and leads them toward the northern skull pyramid they’d attempted to get around earlier.
They glance over to where the large skull pyramid had stood as they make their way through the courtyard. With the shattering of the crystal, it had collapsed and is now only a jumbled pile of skulls. When they reach the northern pyramid, they find that it too had collapsed, the skulls lying in a heap.
Jiron moves cautiously to where the barrier had been and holds his hand out, just in case. When he gets to where it once had been, his hand continues on through. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief and quickly moves to leave this area.
Hurrying on past, they travel through the swamp for an hour before deciding they’ve put enough distance between them and the ruins. Tired and exhausted they make camp and rest. They take turns keeping watch, and manage to make it through the night with no disturbances.
When Jiron wakes the following morning, he finds James sitting by the fire, staring at the crystal he found in the underground complex. “What are you doing?” he asks.
“Just thinking, is all,” he replies. “The ones who built that place had these everywhere, as well as the main crystal above the pool.”
“And?” he prompts him to continue.
“And there must be a reason, something about the crystals that made them important to whoever had lived there,” he explains. “I intend to figure it out.”
“I’m sure you will,” he says as he gets up off the ground. “I’m going to see if I can’t scare up some food for breakfast.”
“Don’t bother,” James says as he motions over to several dead animals with holes in them. “I already got something, if you wouldn’t mind preparing them?”
Shaking his head, Jiron says, “No problem.” He goes over and begins skinning and preparing them for the fire. As he prepares them, he continues glancing over to James as he stares at the crystal.
When the animals are over the fire and roasting, the smell awakens Miko. “Finally up I see,” Jiron says to him.
Miko doesn’t reply, just goes to the edge of camp and answers the call of nature. Upon returning, he says, “James, why did your medallion act the way it did?”
James glances over to him and then returns the shard to his pouch. Turning to face him, he says, “The Star of Morcyth is a symbol of a god. Where I come from, it’s often the belief that religious symbols have some effect upon the dead or half-dead. Often it’s based upon the strength of the faith of the one wielding it. But I don’t worship Morcyth, so I’m not