A Wizards Beginning: Part Eight

It seemed as if the falling would never stop. Ramek had been plunged into this dark pit with Delor, having no idea what exactly was about to happen. One minute, a sandy desert full of workers lay in front of him. When he took one step in, the floor gave in and they started to go down this pit. There was no breeze in the pit. Ramek was simply falling through air. No pressure. He didn't feel like he was going to plummet into the ground. He was just steadily falling, trying to search for a glimpse of light.

     "Hang on," he heard Delor say. He wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen, but his stomach lurched as he thought of the possibilities. What if he broke all his bones? Would Wizardry fix that? Maybe it was stupid to get into Wizardry. So far, it had only gotten him into trouble. No good had come out of it. Maybe he had made a mistake - a big mistake.

     "Here it comes..." Delor said again.

     What was she doing? Was she closing her eyes and holding onto herself? Or was she relaxed? Ramek closed his eyes and waited for the worst. He then heard Delor say, "Here it is," and he felt himself gently clunk to the ground. It didn't hurt. He was surprised for a moment. Had he actually reached the bottom or were they still falling?

     No, they were somewhere. Ramek opened his eyes and saw he was in a cave. Moss grew heavy on the walls and rocks jutted out from the walls. It was musty and cold, cold enough to make Ramek shiver and hug himself, trying to keep warm. "Where are we?" Ramek asked. A stupid question, to say the least. But he wanted more of an answer than "a cave".

     "We're in the Lair," Delor said, getting up and brushing gravel off her fur. "The Dark Lair, to be exact. There are hundreds of Lairs, and this one is owned by the Dark Power. And it's unpleasant, but if I calculated right, the Dark Power should be in that room over there." She pointed a finger to a small door that Ramek had just noticed. It was the same kind of wood that he had seen in the stairwell, a deep mahogany.

     Ramek nodded, also getting up. He started to look around the cave, inspecting the moss.

     "Don't touch that," Delor said. Ramek pulled his finger back from a blue colored moss and looked at her. "It's poisonous," Delor added and started to walk toward the door. "Ready?"

     "No," Ramek replied. And it was the truth. He felt as if he'd never be ready.

     Delor smiled. "You'll do fine. You remember the spell, right?"

     Ramek gave a quick nod. He was nervous...very nervous. If he messed up this spell, his life was on the line. And doubts ran through his mind. Could he actually do it? Sure, people said he possessed unique qualities...but...was it true? Was he special?

     "Get ready," Delor said as she gently nudged the door open. It creaked until it disappeared into the side of the wall. Delor took a cautious step inside and looked around intently, her eyes in a slant. "He's here."

     Those words gave Ramek a sweat. He followed Delor in and entered a large, empty cavern. It was cold and Ramek held himself for a minute, trying to adjust to the temperature. Then, his eyes darted around, looked for the Dark Power. He was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?" Ramek asked, continuing to look around.

     "Don't worry," she said. "He'll reveal himself again."

     "When should I start the spell?"

     "Soon."

     Ramek nodded and followed Delor, who had started to move straight. He didn't ask her where she was going because he knew the answer. They weren't going anywhere, they were just waiting. Ramek surveyed the room a bit more when they were walking. Above him, large spirals of rocks formed and ended in a point, hanging down from the ceiling threateningly. Between these spirals were large crevasses. Ramek could see a lot of dirt build up in these holes. The walls were made with the same cold stone that the floor was. They were placed like a puzzle piece, all the various sizes of stone fitting together perfectly. The floor was smooth, almost as smooth as marble. And it was cold, numbing Ramek's feet a few moments after he had stepped onto it.

     "Come forth," came a deep voice in the darkness. Ramek turned his head in all directions, trying to figure out where the voice had been coming from. There. He saw a tall shadowy figure by the far edge of the wall. "Light avenge," came his cold and dark voice again. Ramek looked up and saw all the stone spirals light up and illuminate the room. The Dark Power was wearing the same black cloak that he had in the lobby of the building. Red eyes glared out from under the hood - glaring right at Ramek.

     Delor stopped and leaned her head back to whisper to Ramek. "When I say 'go' in a sentence, you start the spell."

     Ramek understood and gave a nod of approval. He was ready. He could do it. Delor had started to talk and Ramek needed to listen...catch the word.

     "Dark Power, I am Delor and this is Ramek. We have been through a very rough time getting to you and I am highly displeased to see you," Delor's voice was cold, built up with the anger of being held prisoner for many years. Her sentence was responded to with a cold snicker. "We will go once we get what we want."

     After that, Ramek blocked off all of their conversation and started to say the spell, whispering it under his breath. The words started to roll off his tongue unintentionally after the first few words of the Verse were spoken. He said it without hesitation, oblivious to anything that was happening around him. Hopefully the Dark Power hadn't noticed. No, he hadn't. Ramek had a sense that told him everything was going along okay - at least for now.

     He continued through the spell, eager to get it done and see what the Result would be. If everything went according to plan, the Dark Power should diminish and be sent to a planet in which it would be impossible to regain his powers. Ramek didn't breathe while speaking the spell. He didn't need to. The force of the spell made his body shut down while saying it. His heart had stopped, his brain had stopped, and his lungs had shut down. He was as close to death as possible.

     The last stanza of the Verse. The final straw. "From death the Dark Power breathes, from life we see our mistakes. From Journey's end to Journey's beginning, may death be thought, word, and deed." Ramek was released from his state of mind and looked forward, his eyes coming into focus to see that the Dark Power and Delor had moved.

     Ramek spun around and saw the two at the other end, hand in hand, fighting it out. The Draik started to run over but stopped as he saw the Dark Power put his hand up and Delor got up off the ground and stared at Ramek. "Help," came the cry from Delor's mouth. And Ramek darted off again as the Dark Power went back to throwing large blasts of green light at Delor, who tried to dodge most of them and through back a smaller red light.

     Ramek heaved himself forward, tackling the Dark Power who immediately retaliated and pushed Ramek against the wall, his hand against the Draik's throat.

     Why didn't the spell work? I failed...I failed. He saw Delor scream as a large Techo appeared out of nowhere and took her off into a wall. Ramek tried to scream, but his lungs were deflating, all the air being used to stay alive. And that air would run out soon.

     He was dead. There was no point in fighting it. Ramek closed his eyes. The last thing he saw was the Dark Power in front of him, his red eyes showing happiness. He had won and...

     No. That wasn't how it worked. Ramek remembered something. The last stanza. "Say this right at the point of need," Delor had said. It was the only part she hadn't read from the book. Ramek mustered up his strength, gathering all the air he could from his lungs. "End now this spell that casts out all..." Ramek saw the Dark Power's eyes widen and he felt his grasp tighten. "Evil falls be know to fall..." Ramek struggled around, trying to loosen the grip. "...Death to Powers who betray us, call." The Dark Power started to scream, his grip tightening even more. Ramek gagged and tried to spit out the last few words. "Death to evil..." Ramek felt his head smack into the wall as the Dark Power shook him, though the Draik noticed that the grip was getting considerably weaker. "...foes befall."

To be continued...