A New Dawn by J.J. Johnson

Author:J.J. Johnson [Johnson, J.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jacob Johnson
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Another dull day loomed overhead. The sky was the pale gray of sorrow without tears. The scraping of rock underfoot echoed off the jagged cliffs surrounding them. Lancelin stood at the head of their party leading Ulric and his men to the cavern they desired. The cave was a place he had no desire to see again, but neither was Leviatanas. In all of this he had accepted there would be many such things he dreaded to face but must do so despite his resistance.

The haunted valley opened in front of him. The gnarled, leafless trees still stood sentinel in the silent pass. The mouth of the cave welcomed them with its familiar jagged teeth. His captors stopped in quiet reverence and awe of the place. Ulric stepped forward as the first to break the stupor that clung to them.

“Light some torches,” he ordered to a few of the men standing near their supplies.

They scrambled through a pack and assembled the needed light. Without waiting for the others, he motioned for Cedric to withdraw Dawn’s Deliverer and follow him. The two men set forth. The faint light radiating off the Dawn Blades disappeared in the dark of the cave.

What could these men want with this cave? Lancelin pondered. His eyes caught sight of Izel being dismounted from her horse. They had kept him away from her for most of their journey. Ulric was smart and took no unneeded risks. The young woman from the Dreadwood looked road weary. Her eyes a dull red behind dark bags. Despite the lack of privacy, she mourned the loss of Zuma day and night. He felt a pang of guilt. If it wasn’t for him she would never be here enduring all this.

He shot her a comforting smile as their eyes locked. She mustered up all the strength she had, yet it only produced a twitching of the lip. He was jerked from the moment by a tug on his restraints.

“Come on. Time to get moving,” ordered the guard assigned to him.

With a less than patient pull at his bindings, Lancelin began his march with the rest of the party into the depths of the cave. The damp and cool air saturated all it touched, flooding his mind with memories of where his journey had started. This was where he had brought this wretched plague on Islandia. Perhaps it was here that he could end it.

Time dragged on with the rhythmic march through the darkness before them. Only when they reached the large cavern did they regroup with Ulric and Cedric. The two men had been up to something strange. In fact, the whole cavern had a new appearance. All around symbols blazed with blue light. Lancelin followed the trail they laid until his eyes settled on a symbol shaped like a rune encrusted door. Across its face lay mysterious symbols he could not decipher. He could see all along the symbol’s edges a sharp line of cracks spread like a spider’s web. They stretched out beyond, encompassing the chamber.

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