Echoes - Episode 11: Judas

Episode 11: Judas
Across the bridge and through the passageway they'd previously only glimpsed, Alistair made his way on his own. The tunnel itself was narrow, and he had to squeeze some before it opened into another large chamber, this one with a myriad of exits to chose from. With a small sigh, the conman crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Well," he muttered to himself. "Looks like you've chosen quite the rabbit hole to explore, Mr. Liddell. Do try not to get lost." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Though I suppose one can't really get lost when he has nowhere in particular he's going. Let's see now..."

He began counting his various options, but then stopped. The light from his flashlight was ample enough, but just outside its beam he spotted another, dimly glowing speck. Alistair clicked off his light to see it better. Once he was sure he knew where it was, he turned his light on again so he could see his way and get a closer look.

Embedded in the ground was another one of those crystals, a small one, no bigger than a quarter. Alistair couldn't help a smirk. "Wonder if you disrupt as much magic as your bigger kin," he mused, curiously reaching to touch the gem.

"Stop where you are!"

Alistair froze, but not before sliding his hand back to the dagger in his boot. The voice was unfamiliar, coming from the darkness to his side. He could hear the rustle of movement. Slowly, he turned so that his flashlight caught the two figures in its beam, revealing a pair of gargoyles much larger than the one they'd encountered outside. The siren swallowed the knot in his throat and forced a smile at them. "Hello."

They both scowled at him, the one in front crossing his arms, his eyes narrowed in a glare. "You, human, are trespassing on sacred territory..."

"I can explain myself," Alistair interrupted, cringing because he knew he'd said so too quickly. The gargoyles growled.

"Start."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snow was the first one to stir from her restless sleep. Eyes still puffy from crying until she'd passed-out, she rubbed them until they cleared, pulling her feet out from under Guy so she could crawl out of the tent. She expected to see four tents set up in the space, and it took a moment for the realization that there were only three to hit her, along with the implications. "Where is he?" she muttered, turning towards Parker's tent when she heard the other wizard emerge. "Alistair's gone."

"Hm?" He pulled out his flashlight and swept over the space, only verifying Snow's statement, then sighed and shrugged. "So he is. You don't think the wards might have offended him, do you?"

Snow shot him a glare and a pout, reasonably certain that was a large part of it, but unwilling to remark, knowing Parker would point out that she'd warded her tent just like everyone else. By now, Guy and Artemis were up too.

"Where's Alistair?" the Warden asked, followed by the cheetah tilting his head quizzically. Snow stood and began packing away her tent.

"Gone, probably off further into the caves, seeing as he can't exactly leave the way we came. I think we really hurt his feelings with our wards."

"We should get moving then." Parker was already done with his tent, still frowning. "We need to figure out where he went. Unstable or not, he's still my friend. He shouldn't be in these caves by himself. None of us should."

Artemis rolled his eyes, summoning up an orb of light for his staff while he shook his head. "I'm impressed by the strong friendship you share with the conman," he drawled, making no attempt to hide his sarcasm. "I can only imagine the feelings are mutual."

"Wow," Snow said with an unamused snort of her own. "It took you all of two minutes to be a dick, Artie. I think that's a new record for you."

"Speak for yourself. Neither of you seem particularly regretful that he's gone, and we all had the good sense to take precautions against another violent outburst from him. Even Parker here, who should have the least to worry about (having known him the longest), warded his tent. If his own friends are that wary, what do you expect me to say?" He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "And Jesus, Snow, after what you've seen, I'm surprised you're still hemming and hawing over who's side your on. He flat out admitted he's a manipulative bastard, but any time he's not doing something blatant, you go all glossy-eyed!"

Snow face turned a brilliant pink. "I do not!"

"Please!" Artemis shot back, rolling his eyes. "You don't see it because you're too busy falling for his tricks hook, line and sinker! Except for his recent outburst, you're the only one he's always nice to. He's playing you, Snow, and you're letting him. Even though you know he's dangerous, know what he is."

"I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt!" she shouted in return. Yes, she remembered very distinctly the terrifying thing she had seen, but Alistair had been just as horrified by the description as she had. Or at least seemed to be. Snow wrinkled her nose. Artemis was wrong, she told herself. She wasn't being manipulated. She was too smart for that.

With nothing more to say about it, Snow took her first step forward, ready to get moving again. Of course, her knee gave out on her and she stumbled, hitting the ground with a spectacular sprawl. Parker smirked and laughed. "Want me to make some stone crutches for you, balourd?"

She had no idea what he'd called her, but she was sure it wasn't very nice. "Just give me a hand and help me walk, Parker. I'll loan you my gun in exchange."

Parker first was shocked, then smiled as he moved next to her to lend his shoulder. "Then let me assist you, mademoiselle..."

Snow rolled her eyes, but fished her gun out of her pack for him and made no comment. She didn't want to admit it, but she missed Alistair already.

It didn't take them long to get back to the chasm and over the bridge. Seeing it still there made them all wonder just what time it was, since spells didn't usually last more than a day. A moot point, they figured, moving on. When they got to the chamber with many exits they all groaned in frustration, having no idea which one Alistair could have taken. Before they could even start going over ways to pick one, however, they spotted a clue:

An abandoned flashlight.

"Maybe he didn't need it," Parker mused as he walked with Snow towards it. "I mean, his eyes have started glowing after all."

"I don't think he has any control over that," Artemis muttered, following them with Guy close behind. Suddenly, the cheetah's ears folded back and he let out a low growl, rushing past the wizards to  paw at the flashlight on the ground. When he hit it, it rolled, its beam suddenly showing a much more distressing hint:

Blood, splattered across floor of the cave.

"Shit," Snow said under her breath, covering her mouth while Parker helped her lean against the wall so he could kneel for a closer look. He frowned, tentatively reaching his hand over the blood.

"God, I hope this isn't human."

"You can't tell, voodoo-man?" Artemis asked. Parker glared back at him.

"What do you think I'm trying to do,  tête de noeud?"

The Cajun closed his eyes, using his biomancy to get a read of the blood. He'd healed Alistair enough times from his supply runs, he'd be able to tell if this was his blood or not. A knot tightened in his chest.

"It's Alistair's," Parker breathed, standing. "He definitely went this way." Frowning, he pointed his flashlight down the tunnel in front of him. "And it looks like he left us a trail to follow."

Snow choked back the bile that rose in her throat. "I would have rather cast a tracking spell, but if we run into any more of those crystals, who's to say it wouldn't fizzle?" She let Parker help her up again. "How fresh is it?"

"Fresh enough."

"Then let's not waste any more time." Artemis held his staff out and nodded. "With any luck, whatever happened to him has taken him straight to the warlock we're after." A half-cocky smirk graced his lips. "And for the sake of your so-called friend, let's hope he hasn't bled out by the time we get there."

They didn't discuss the possibilities, following the blood drops deeper into the cave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This place is a veritable maze," Snow groaned. She'd tried walking on her own for a while and was doing alright, but stayed near Parker just in case.

"And we're down to three out of five," the Cajun added. At some point along their trek, Guy had wandered off. No one had noticed until they stopped seeing blood and had gone to ask the cheetah if he could sniff the trail out. "At least it looks like we've come across a long stretch. Not so many tunnels to choose from."

They continued forward, and as the tunnel began to widen into a chamber, Artemis' orb of light started to fade. "Crystals ahead," he warned. "Be prepared, everyone."

Shortly after his warning, they saw it: a large glowing gem jutting from the ceiling above them. Artemis' orb was barely glowing now, but the crystal's light was bright enough to illuminate the hall on its own. Along with the three figures blocking the passage ahead: two menacing looking gargoyals and a familiar, one-horned minotaur. Parker and Snow exchanged wide-eyed looks and simultaneously pointed at the beast. "You!"

"You, wizards, are trespassing," one of the gargoyles warned. "You have intruded on this sacred realm and defiled it, a crime for which there is only one punishment: death."

"We're just passing through," Parker tried to assure him, raising his hands in defense. "We mean no harm."

"No harm, he says," the other gargoyle said with a sneer, turning to his companion. "After the damage he's already done?"

"And you cannot pass this way," the minotaur added, his voice deep and gravelly. "The Master is in audience."

Parker swallowed loudly, trying to shake the sinking feeling that washed over him. He continued to smile uneasily and tried to nonchalantly push his way past anyway. "I'm sure he won't mind if we just scoot on by..."

But the minotaur roared in fury, slamming a fist hard into his chest and sending the wizard crashing into the cave wall. With a snort, he then charged, and Parker just barely managed to recover enough to bend out of the way, the beast's solitary horn nearly clipping the edge of his coat. Quickly, Parker drew Snow's gun, focusing and firing at his attacker. The bullet soared, hitting the minotaur's horn at just the right spot, cracking it at the base and severing it from his head. With a triumphant laugh, Parker grinned. "What now, you heifer?"

Artemis and Snow immediately prepared their own attacks as the gargoyles joined in on the fray. The Warden, forgetting the crystal's magic suppressing glow, summoned a fire spell to attack, doing barely enough damage to singe them.

"Brilliant, Artie! Brilliant!" Snow growled at him, resorting to her dagger when one of the gargoyle's reached her and slashed at her with it's claws. Artemis cursed the crystal under his breath and switched his sword, defending as much as he was attacking his gargoyle. Parker continued contending with the minotaur, dodging another charge.

"Olé!" he shouted, unable to resist sweeping his coat with a flare before he focused on shooting again. It was an even better shot than before, hitting the minotaur precisely between the eyes. As the beast sank to the ground, Parker didn't hesitate to put two more bullets in him, just to be absolutely certain he was good and dead. He saw the others struggling with the gargoyles. "Hey! Snow! Catch!" He locked the gun before tossing it to her, then pulled out his bow, loosing an arrow at the gargoyle nearest her to distract it.

Snow caught the weapon, but was still hesitant to use it, tucking it in its holster before trying with her dagger again. She hit, but just barely, and the gargoyle lunged back, wrapping its powerful arms around her before turning into stone. She struggled to free herself as the other gargoyle moved away from Artemis, claws out menacingly.

"Oh, hell no," Parker mumbled, drawing another arrow. He fired it directly into his face, making the creature shriek in pain. Artemis tried to help by attempting another spell to shove the stone gargoyle back, but to his horror it had no effect at all. The Warden's jaw dropped. He'd expected at least a nudge, even with the crystal suppressing the spell. Instead, he got nothing.

"Artie! Parker!" Snow's eyes widened as she realized something. "Gargoyles are fae! They'll be hurt if we use cold iron!" Being part fae herself, she was uneasy around the metal, but maybe the other two would have some. The gargoyle Parker had just shot screamed at her and punched her hard in the face for revealing their weakness. This one stoked the Cajun's anger.

"I have just the arrows for that," he growled, drawing a steel-tipped one from his quiver, but missing his first shot with it.

Artemis quickly went into his bag, pulling out a strand of barbed wire he kept for when he dealt with the fae and wrapping it around his sword. When he swung his weapon at the gargoyle holding Snow, it cut through like butter, and the creature turned back to flesh just long enough to let out a cry of pain before it collapsed, dead.

Free at last, Snow attacked the remaining gargoyle, cutting deep into its skin. It growled, but it instead rushed at Parker, charging him. "The defiler will not be allowed to live!"

The wizard wasn't able to avoid it, and it didn't take long for the gargoyle to wrestle him into a hold, clamping its hand over his mouth and nose before turning to stone. Panic began to set in as he held his breath, but somehow, he managed to squirm free, cutting his face while he pulled himself from the gargoyle's grasp. It reverted back, even more furious, but by then it was completely outnumbered. Artemis swung his sword, Parker drew another arrow, and soon enough the last gargoyle was dead.

Snow sank to the ground, sighing with relief. "I'm getting really tired of things always trying to kill us, but I think I know why the gargoyles were angry." She pointing up to the crystal. "Trespassing and defiling this sacred ground? Parker shot out one of those crystals. Gargoyles are unaffiliated fae, but by nature, they are guardians. They will defend their territory to the death, and attack anyone who threatens it. I think it's safe to say that Parker may have pissed them off."

"Hey! I wasn't the only one who thought destroying the magic suppressing crystal was a good idea!" he shot back, but then sighed too. "At least now we know not to do it again."

"In any case," Artemis said, unwrapping his sword to put the wire away. "Our path is clear. Let's hope we don't have far to go."

They all nodded in agreement, then set out for the chamber beyond.

The next room was the most elaborately designed they had seen yet. Aside from the regular features of the caves, there were two carved out, deep pits in front of a complicated magic circle, likewise etched into the ground. No crystals here, the space lit up by dozens of torches with sickly green flames. At the back wall, a large rock formation had been carved into the shape of an enormous wolf skull, and in front of this stood a tall, deeply tanned man in a horned headdress and detailed tribal robes. He held his arms wide to them, a crazed grin on his face.

"Welcome, honored guests!" he said. "You've made it to my sanctum whole. How worthy you are, then, to receive the blessing of the gods. You shall make superior beasts, even among the beasts!"

"And I thought Alistair was off his rocker," Parker whispered loudly to the other two. To his surprise (and everyone else's), another voice laughed in response.

"Madness is relative, Mr. LaVeaux." From behind the stone skull stepped a second figure, strutting up confidently behind the warlock and leaning on his cane, his other hand still dripping blood from the deep gash across his palm. Alistair gave him one of his classic smirks. "I should know."