Legends of Amacia Rise of the Caverias

Meanwhile, deep in the labyrinth, Hanna and Elle managed to navigate the maze in silence and reach the gates Morpheus mentioned. It consisted of a strange pair of stone doors with elaborate glyphs and reliefs carved on them. “This sure is strange,” Hanna said softly to Elle. “Have you seen anything like it?”

Elle shook head, saying, “No. I haven’t. Some of these symbols I recognize but these others are foreign to me.”

Hanna brought the scepter close to the door to illuminate the script that lay etched on it. Dozens of symbols cover the door, woven into an elaborate, strange riddle. Drakens, caronadons, saber cats, taroks, all manner of mythical beasts, including the Roc, Chimera, and Hydra were present on the door. The symbols depicted Leviathan and Behemoth as well. Hanna looked at the doors intensely and noticed that the Chimera and Hydra were opposite each other in the center of the doors surrounding the Roc, which lay right in the center. Around the chimera and Hydra were the Leviathan, tarok, Behemoth, and many representations of the forces of the Old Ones. Two giant basilisks encircled the Chimera, Hydra, and Roc, the head of one at the tail of the other. Upon seeing the basilisks, Hanna whispered, “Upon my word; this is a basilisk.”

Elle looked upon the doors with growing dread. “We shouldn’t be here,” she whispered, keeping her guard up at all times. “There’s evil here that doesn’t sleep.”

“Don’t be afraid, Elle,” Hanna said calmly. “The angels of the Lord guard us, even in this den of serpents and monsters. Ah ha! Eureka,” she cried softly as she discovered the secret.

“What is it?” Elle asked.

“Oh, nothing; Just how to get the doors open. Look here,” Hanna replied, pointing to a certain set of glyphs. “Do you see the writing that is so small and insignificant compared to the other glyphs?”

Elle looked closely, seeing the writing on the basilisks. “Upon my word,” she breathed, “Sure is, but it is an alien tongue to me. I can’t read it.”

“But I can,” Hanna returned with a smile. “The Teaching machine was a good teacher indeed. It’s the long forgotten dialect of Amacia from the 1st Age. This language dates from the Emperor’s coup.” She stepped back, gently pushing Elle back a couple of steps with her arm. “This door is a machine and only the proper code will open it. I figured the machines were here somewhere for the Scepter is reacting to them. Now then; let’s open these doors.” Her face grew stern and cold. Hanna smacked the floor with the scepter and its head lit up like the sun, chasing away the shadows for nearly seventy feet down the passage. “Eloi cari soit, soit, uncarida hepti chimeras,” she called out in the ancient tongue. The doors suddenly glowed and the glyphs lit up brilliantly. Elle watched in awe as Hanna smacked the scepter on the floor again calling out, “Feril garout undar serpentitis basilar sout.” At this point, they both realized this was no ordinary door for the carving of the basilisks suddenly came to life and moved, slithering around the Chimera, Hydra, and Roc. As it moved, the two basilisks separated and one coiled around the Hydra and other coiled around the Chimera. There was a clang as the basilisks coiled around the Hydra and Chimera, followed by a hissing of escaping air that was very old and stale. Hanna grinned at Elle, saying, “Open sesame.”

Elle was flabbergasted. “How did you do that?” she asked in awe. “I didn’t know you could speak like that? What is it?”

Hanna stopped a moment, surprised by the question because she’d never given it any thought. “Gee, I don’t rightly know what it is,” she answered, “but this isn’t the first time I’ve spoken like that and got a response out of a locked door or piece of machinery. Nevertheless, do not worry about that. Come, Muriel is waiting.” She went to the doors and gently pushed on them. They didn’t give so she pushed harder and they opened reluctantly, creaking and groaning as they were pushed open. Once open, they were in an extension of the passage they were following. The air of death was a stench in their nostrils.

“What is that foul odor?” Elle said hesitantly, not knowing whether she wanted to know.

“I don’t know,” Hanna replied, “but it smells of death. Stay close, Elle, and be on your guard. Who knows what foul things lay beyond these gates?” They pressed on through the passage for a hundred yards until it opened into a great cavern. The bones of all manner of man and beast covered the cavern floor. Far across the cavern shined a singular dim light in the stygian blackness. Hanna saw the bones and remembered the legends and myths of the basilisk and other dangerous monsters. “Elle, keep your eyes on the floor. Do not look around and be absolutely quiet,” she warned. “I suspect the guardian may be a basilisk. If it shows it ugly head, DO NOT look it in the eye or you will die.” This struck great fear into Elle’s soul, causing her to shadow Hanna.

Hanna led Elle toward the light, quietly picking their way through the bones of the cavern floor, which spanned almost a mile in length. As they moved through the bone field, both of them heard a hiss and something of great size moving about the darkness beyond their bubble of light, crunching bones. It stayed off in the darkness as they closed in on the light. However, as they got closer to the light, so did the hissing. One hundred yards from the light, the hiss became a growl and Elle’s fear rose dramatically. “It knows we’re here,” she whispered almost inaudibly in Hannibal’s ear.

Suddenly, they heard multiple hisses and growls from all directions as they closed on what Hanna saw as a strange stone house built in the side of the cavern. The light emanated from a candle in the window. Hanna gripped the scepter tightly and ordered Elle, “When I strike the ground with the scepter, RUN toward the light over yonder and do not look back or at anything around you.” She stopped and with both hands, smote the ground with the scepter. It blazed like the noonday sun, pushing the light envelope out for five hundred feet. With the new light, Hanna and Elle found themselves surrounded by four colossal snakes unlike anything Hanna had ever encountered. Each was more than a hundred feet in length and five feet thick with heads full of needlelike teeth seven inches in length. The sudden flare of light from the scepter blinded them and they roared in unison, turning and fleeing away from the light. “RUN!” Hanna shouted at Elle and they took off at top speed as the scepter’s light came down from its blazing intensity back to its thirty-foot bubble. In less than a minute, they had crossed the distance and the four basilisks were again closing on their position. They quickly found the door and pushed through it, slamming it behind them.

With a heavy sigh of relief, Hanna and Elle turned around to see a small room only thirty foot square with a small window in one side with a candle in it, a fireplace with a fire in it, a small chair and table with a cup and a bowl on it. Near the walls lay three more chairs. On the fire, a cauldron sat bubbling with some strange stew. On the wall opposite of the window and near the fireplace lay a small doorway that led into the darkness beyond. Hanna and Elle looked at each other in a puzzled manner. The smell of the bubbling cauldron filled the room with a pleasant aroma. Abruptly, a voice called from the darkness of the doorway, saying sternly, “Who dares to intrude in my house? I surely didn’t invite you in.”

Elle was about to speak when Hanna raised her hand to Elle in a wait gesture. “Speak now, trespassers!” the voice hissed coldly. “How did you get past the guardians?”

“Please forgive us for intruding, sister,” Hanna apologized, realizing the voice was feminine in nature. “We were forced to take refuge in here from the basilisks that were stalking us in the grotto. We came in search of one known as Muriel. I would very much like to speak with her. If you could tell us where she is, we will gladly leave your home.”

“Who is it that seeks Muriel and why?” the voice growled sternly.

“Hanna Smith seeks Muriel for her wisdom and knowledge. The Emperor is preparing to overrun the world once more and I was told that Muriel could help us in some way,” Hanna replied.

The voice uttered an explicative that did not bear repeating, followed by, “Who told you Muriel could help?”

“The archangels Gabriel and Michael charged me to find Muriel,” Hanna replied softly, trying not to antagonize the voice. “Please help us find her. Our time is running out. My wife is prisoner of the Emperor in the Tower. He means to make her his queen. He also has his Cadre creating the most destructive army in existence to wipe out all resistance to him, and the only way to reverse my mutation lies with the cybernetic Josephine who lies within the heart of his domain. Please, tell us where Muriel is. We desperately need her advice and counsel.” Hanna dropped to one knee, pleading, “I must go back to reverse my mutation, get my wife, and all the tormented souls who wish to leave the City of the Damned very quickly. Help me, please.”

Elle dropped down on one knee as well, adding, “Please, tell us where she is. This woman here is the hand of the Ancient of Days, the mutated form of the Prophesied One who will destroy the Emperor. She has come to ask Muriel for help. Please help her.”

“Is that so?” the voice returned in a not so belligerent way, obviously swayed by Hanna humbling herself. The voice then showed itself, coming into the light. Before Hanna stood a strange being about six feet tall that appeared to be part human, part cat, part reptile, and part machine. Its body resembled a human, but its head and ears looked much like a Lynxian with long snowy white hair. One of its arms was cybernetic, and the other arm was distinctly reptilian with its feet seemingly a mix of human and cat. It wore a plain woolen shroud like a dress that reached to its feet. Around its waist, the creature used a rope as a belt. “Many Prophesied Ones have come to me. All have failed. Their bones litter the grotto beyond. What makes you any different?” the being asked intently. Hanna was so startled by the appearance of the being that she couldn’t speak, only stare at it. She immediately noticed Lynxian attributes of the being as it ordered, “Speak up. Why are you different from the others?” The bizarre nature of the being horrified Elle. Hanna suddenly realized that Muriel stood before her, and furthermore, she was unlike anything or anyone she’d ever encountered.

“Muriel?” Hanna asked slowly. The being hesitated as it stopped at the table, unsure of what to make of this woman before her. She looked on her closely and gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, saying, “Fate be merciful! It’s the Beowulf mutated, just as the writings foretold! She has returned! Oh, forgive me, milady; I knew not who you were. Why did you use this other strange name?”

Hanna rose, followed by Elle, saying, “Because many of my enemies have sought my life so I changed my name to elude them. Furthermore, when the Emperor mutated me, I had to change it again to Hanna from Hannibal in order to keep my sanity. You are Muriel, aren’t you?”

The creature leaned heavily on the table, saying, “Yes. Muriel is my name. What does milady want with me?”

Hanna walked forward slowly, saying, “We need your help, Muriel. You know things we don’t about the Emperor and the Cadre, do you not?”

Muriel’s face fell as she said, “Yes. I do. That’s why I have been imprisoned here for over six hundred cycles.”

“Six hundred years?” Hanna gasped in astonishment. “Incredible! How did you live so long and full a life?”

Muriel sat in a chair at the table, saying, “It is a curse…this long life of mine. You may thank the Emperor and his demon sorcerers for it. Oh, please forgive me, milady. Have a seat. It has been three hundred cycles since any have braved the guardians to ask of my council.” Hanna motioned to Elle and they retrieved a couple of chairs, sitting down at the table. Hanna leaned the scepter on the table and Muriel asked, “Do my old eyes cheat me or is that the Scepter of Shadizar Kahn?”

“For truth it is, wise Muriel,” Hanna replied carefully. “It is a strange fate that has led me to these pits to seek your council.”

“So that is how you got past the guardians,” Muriel chimed with a smile. She looked intensely at Hanna, probing her telepathically. Hanna immediately noticed it and realized Muriel was the most powerful telepath she’d ever encountered, being nearly on par with her own skill. Sensing this, Hanna guarded her mind carefully, only letting Muriel see what she deemed important to the mission. “You have grown a great deal, Miss Hanna. Your mind is sharp and keen, the most powerful I’ve ever encountered. It rivals the Emperor’s own skill,” Muriel stated as she probed Hanna to find the truth of her identity. “No one but the Emperor has been able to block my telepathy. But you are doing it quite well.”

“So I’ve been told,” Hanna said humbly. “The Emperor has tried to kill my wife and me several times with his telepathic attacks. However, each time he does, he fails and we grow stronger as the result of it. Even the mutation he performed on me has backfired, enhancing my power in ways I never thought possible. It is the Ancient of Days that has imparted this gift to us, not the Old Ones or the Black Prince.”

At those words, Muriel’s expression hardened and she said coldly, “Don’t presume on me, Beowulf. I know who has given you this power. This is why they rage in their fury. You have turned on them and become traitor to them.” Her expression then softened as she continued, “I know the Almighty One has equipped you for this battle. So let’s dispense with these pleasantries. Who are you really and why are you here?”

“See for yourself,” Hanna replied, telepathically opening her identity to Muriel.

Muriel saw for herself what had happened to Hanna at the hands of the Emperor. She covered her mouth in shock. “By the gods,” Muriel breathed, seeing and feeling the horrors and torments Hanna endured, “You truly do know our pain because you’ve endured it and more yourself. And yet, you survive! Forgive me, milady for doubting you.”

“It’s okay,” Hanna said softly with a weary look. “I’m glad I could just show it and not tell it. It rips me apart every time I have to tell the tale.”

“I know it does,” Muriel stated sympathetically, “I too know that plague and have endured it. You are not alone, sister. But why did you come all this way to see me with this strange sister in tow?”

Muriel’s gaze went to Elle and a look of puzzlement came over her face. “Who are you, my dear?” Muriel asked. “Your face is familiar.” Elle swallowed hard and stifled her fear. “Do not be afraid,” Muriel said plainly. “You are with the Beowulf, so you are in no danger of me.”

“I am Elle,” Elle said with a tremor of fear in her voice. “I am the last of my race, the Ilmarinen. The Emperor has hunted us down and I am all that’s left, to my knowledge.”

Muriel sighed deeply, saying, “That is why I know you. I recognize the traits of your people. I am saddened to hear that you are the last. I used to work closely with your people before I was taken.”

Hanna sat there, listening intently. “Could you tell us your tale, Muriel? How did you get here in this stygian realm surrounded by giant basilisks?” she humbly asked.

Again, Muriel sighed, saying, “Of course, milady Beowulf. Long ago, I wasn’t this monstrosity that you see before you. I was, as you could say, normal like you. I was a normal woman with all the dreams and fears a woman could have.” She paused as she tried to release her memories with great difficulty. “You must forgive me, milady,” Muriel apologized. “Because of what they did to me, I have a very hard time remembering anything from my past before I was taken by the Cadre.”

Hanna smiled pleasantly, saying, “Take your time. I understand what it’s like to not remember things. I too have missing time and memories from my youth.” She looked at her very closely and began to see something she didn’t expect: a faint resemblance to someone he knew, particularly Amelia. As Muriel continued to try to remember, Hanna added, “In fact, you remind me of someone I met recently. She too had a problem remembering because of what the Cadre did to her. I helped her with the assistance of my wife, her father, and a draken named Argus. We, at her request, used our combined telepathic abilities to unlock her past, giving her back her identity. It was done, however, when I was much less skilled than I am now and before I was mutated.”

This news caught her attention and Muriel’s eyes lit up as she said, “Really. You had Argus help to release this maid’s mind from the prison of the Cadre?”

Hanna smiled, nodding as she said, “Yes, sister. We did. It was one of the most intense telepathic encounters I’ve ever had. But we did release her mind from the chains the Cadre put on them. Could we help you in this way?”

Muriel was taken aback by the offer. No one had ever asked to do anything for her in all her long years, especially after she was confined to her dark prison. Her expression gave away her surprise. “You would do that for me, milady?” she asked with a tremor on her voice. Six hundred years of not remembering her identity and what really happened to her caused hope to rise in her face.

“Yes. All people deserve to know who they are. If you are willing and believe, the Almighty can make this happen,” Hanna replied softly.

Muriel was overcome, and began to weep softly. This caused Elle’s fears to abate because it showed that Muriel was only human, even though her body had been mutated and enhanced with machinery. Hanna got up and went to her side asking, “Is there something wrong?” She squatted next to Muriel, putting one hand on her mechanical hand and the other on her shoulder. This contact caused Muriel to open up, bawling like a little girl. Elle watched in amazement as Hanna put an arm around Muriel, saying, “It’s all right. It has been so long since anyone has touched you, hasn’t it.” She cried on Hanna’s shoulder for several moments, and then calmed herself.

Choked with emotion, Muriel asked, “Do you know how long it has been since anyone has touched me in that manner?”

Hanna looked her in the eye, saying, “Far too long for such a gentle soul to be in this solitary confinement.”

Muriel looked at Hanna as she wiped her eyes with her reptilian hand. “It has been five hundred and fifty cycles since anyone has dared touch me and it’s been even longer since anyone has asked to do anything for me,” she whimpered as she looked down at the table.

Hanna took her hand and gently turned Muriel’s head by the chin so that she could look her in the eye. “Your long years of confinement are finished. I come to set the captives free. Would you like to leave this place of death, Muriel?” she asked with great authority and sincerity. Muriel’s mouth fell open in surprise as Hanna added, “I have several allies and friends like you, dear Muriel. I promise you that you will not be shunned or hated. So, will you leave this grim dungeon and look on the sky again for the first time in six hundred cycles?”

“But how will we get past the guardians? They are lethal and quick,” Muriel asked.

Hanna looked her in the eye, saying resolutely, “I come even to these dark pits to destroy serpents and monsters. The Almighty Ancient of Days has set this task upon me. Let me show you something.” She held up her hand, showing Muriel the signet ring of Thoth Caverias.

Muriel gasped in astonishment when she saw it. Her eyes opened widely and sparkled with awe and reverence as she whispered, “Oh, milady Beowulf. Tis true, you have returned as writings have said. The heir to Amacia has returned.”

“So that you have no doubt, look here,” Hanna said as she reached into her charred leather coat, removing the Seal of the Caverias line. She held it before Muriel and her face literally radiated with astonishment, awe and now, fear. “Do you know how I retrieved this and the sword that is slung on my back?” she asked. Muriel shook her head and Hanna said in a slow, stern, and serious voice, “You are aware of the Old Ones in the chasm beyond the labyrinth.” Muriel’s face grew grim as she nodded. Hanna then explained to Muriel her fall into the abyss and her besting of the Old Ones in the chasm as well as his escape from the Isle of the Devourers. The account astonished Muriel to the point that as Hanna finished she dropped to her knees, falling on her face before Hanna, worshipping her. Hanna immediately reached down and took Muriel by the arm, gently pulling her up, saying, “Don’t worship me, dear Muriel. Worship God for He is the one that is doing this, not me. I am just a tool in His mighty hand and a servant. He just chose to act through me. So give Him the worship, not me. I’m just a simple mutated woman, like you; worship God.” Muriel allowed Hanna to pull her to her feet. “Just look at me as your friend and sister, at least until I can reverse this mutation the Emperor cursed me with. Then you can call me brother,” Hanna chimed with a smile. “Now, will you come with us?”

Muriel threw her arms around Hanna’s neck and kissed her on the cheek, saying, “Yes! I never believed this day would come. But what of the guardians? They are very dangerous. They were put out there to keep me from getting away and to kill anyone who would try and reach me.”

Hanna reached into her pocket, produced the communicator, and began to tinker with it, trying to get a signal. “Upon my word,” Muriel breathed. “I have not seen one of those since I was imprisoned here. Can it make contact with the outside?”

After a few moments of tinkering, Hanna’s face fell and she growled, “I’m afraid not. Either this chamber is shielded or there may just be too much interference from the strata around us. I was able to use it to escape the pit and reach the safety of Morpheus’ grotto. But it’s just not getting any signal in here.”

Hanna’s inability to receive a signal with the device puzzled Muriel, so she asked, “And that means what, milady?”

“It means that we have to do it the hard way. We will do just like we did coming in here, use the scepter to drive them away,” Hanna stated. “We can be swift and quiet.” Just then, the house shook as hisses and growls came from outside. “One thing about the guardians, is it true that they can kill with a look?” Hanna asked intently, trying to get all the facts about the basilisks.

Muriel shook her head, saying, “No. Their gaze will not kill, but it is hypnotic. They will drive you into a trance and then devour you while you’re dazed. They are swift and powerful. Even the Devourers avoid them. But how can we escape? They know you’re here and are trying to break in to kill us.” The house groaned and shook. They heard a noise from the window.

Hanna glanced and saw one of the beasts looking in the window, hissing and flicking his tongue. “Elle, don’t look at it!” Hanna shouted out in vain because the beast already hypnotized Elle. She began to walk mindlessly toward the door slowly.

“It has her!” Muriel cried out.

Hanna jumped into action. She darted for the scepter, saying at the same time, “Stop her Muriel! Don’t let her open the door!” Muriel ran at Elle, tackling her to the floor and pinning her down. Elle was zoned out of her skull as she struggled futilely against Muriel’s iron grip.

Hanna snatched the scepter and brought it down hard on the floor. The head blazed like an arc welder, driving away every shadow in the room. The basilisk at the window turned away as the scepter flashed. Hanna prayed for insight as to how to deal with the massive snakes as she carefully approached the window from the side. She could hear the beast breathing just out the window. “Oh, great!” she growled with dismay, diving away from the window just before the basilisk’s head crashed through the wall. The force of the basilisk coming through the wall and window knocked Hanna across the room. The scepter went flying into the corner as Hanna tumbled over the table. Muriel dragged Elle back into a corner as Hanna rolled to her feet with Thoth’s sword in her hand. The beast hissed and opened its mouth, showing its huge, needlelike teeth dripping with venom. Hanna focused on the snout and not the eyes. “So, you want to play, do ya? All right, let’s dance,” she growled at the beast as it slithered forward.

Hanna kicked the table at it and it snapped, crushing the table to splinters in its jaws. It twisted and spit out the pieces, coiling to strike in the confined area of the house. In less than a second, it spit its venom at Hanna, barely missing her as she darted toward the fireplace. The venom splattered on the wall behind her, eating the stone away in seconds because of its caustic nature. It then followed through with a strike aimed at swallowing Hanna whole. It missed a second time as Hanna dove toward the beast as it struck, going low. Its head smashed into the fireplace, consuming the fire and hot caldron of scalding stew sitting there. It shrieked as it swallowed the caldron and some of the fire. As it pulled back, Hanna ran the sword directly through the head of it until the sword protruded from the top it its skull. The strike effectively nailed the beast’s mouth shut. With a hellish shriek, it writhed around so violently that Hanna was unable to remove her blade. She rolled back and forth, avoiding the beast as it pulled back to the hole it burst through initially. “Oh, no you don’t!” Hanna growled viciously as she snatched up Elle’s bladed Bo staff and attacked. With the speed and power of a tiger, she pounced on the snake, driving her weapon deep into its brain as well. All of this happened in about thirty seconds. With one last cry, the basilisk fell dead at her feet with its head lying on its side, caustic venom oozing from the teeth and glands.

Hanna yanked the Elle’s weapon from its head and looked over at Elle and Muriel. She panted deeply from the fight, leaning heavily on the wall. Muriel looked at Hanna in shock while Elle was coming out of her trance.

“Man…that was one tough customer,” Hanna wheezed. “I thought he had me there for a minute.”

Muriel let go of Elle as she asked, “What happened? The last thing I remember is looking at the window and seeing a couple of eyes.”

“You were mesmerized by the guardian,” Muriel said. “If Miss Beowulf hadn’t slain the beast, we all would have been dead.” Muriel helped Elle up, and then turned to Hanna, saying, “Never in all my life have I seen such power and speed in a woman, much less a man. No man or woman has ever slain a guardian. Surely, you are what the writings say. You are the One...the Last Caverias.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Hanna countered. “There are still three more out there. Here Elle; you’ll probably need this.” She handed the bladed bow staff to Elle, adding, “It was very useful.” Elle took the weapon with a fearful look as she gazed at the dead basilisk.

Hanna latched on to the sword and placing a foot on the head, pulled hard, removing the sword from the head of the beast. “We need to go now!” she said urgently as she retrieved the seal that had fallen next to the fireplace, and then the scepter.

Muriel approached Hanna, holding out her hand. In it lay the signet. “You dropped this in the battle,” she said softly, giving the ring back to Hanna.

“Thank you,” Hanna returned as she stowed the seal in her coat, and then put the ring on her finger. Taking the scepter in one hand and the sword in the other, she ordered, “Let’s get out of here before the others come. Elle, get the door.”

Elle hesitated and Muriel said, “I’ll get it.” She opened the door slowly and quietly.

“Stand back,” Hanna ordered as she put her foot in the doorway. They stood back and Hanna flung the door open, smiting the floor with the scepter at the same time. The blinding light from the head of the scepter chased the darkness away for five hundred feet outside of the house. The instant the scepter flashed, the other three basilisks scurried away into the shadows. The light subsided to the thirty-foot bubble and the shrieks could be heard coming toward them again. Hanna repeated the action, saying as she did, “When the scepter flashes, RUN and don’t look back.” The moment it flashed, they exploded out of the house, running full speed. They were a hundred yards from the house when the scepter resumed its standard glow. They fled on as the basilisks closed on them from either side and behind. Hanna accidentally tapped the sword and Scepter together as she ran and both weapons blazed like twin suns, pushing the light out one hundred feet and maintained it for two minutes, allowing them to get two-thirds the way across the bone field.

Suddenly, the basilisks cut them off. One cut off the escape while the other two surrounded them. Hanna smacked the floor with scepter, pushing the light envelope back several hundred feet. She tapped the sword and scepter together and the envelope stayed static. This time, the basilisks did not run. They slithered and shrieked as they reared up. Elle’s warrior instinct wasn’t enough to keep her fear in check. She looked around wildly, wondering where the first attack would come from. Muriel trembled in abject terror as the snakes rose to strike. Hanna’s countenance steeled as she ordered, “Don’t look them in the eye!”

Unexpectedly, the one from behind stuck. Hanna wheeled around with the scepter and sword in tandem, using them as one by instinct. The basilisk moved forward with lightning speed only to be greeted with a blast of energy from the scepter and sword as she crossed them. The energy blast erupted from the scepter head and burned a hole clean through the basilisk’s head. The power of the blast was enough to knock the basilisk back onto itself. In an instant, Muriel and Elle lay cowering on the grotto floor, clinging to each other in terror as Hanna faced the second one that barred their way. It struck at them. Hanna veered away, drawing the beast away from Muriel and Elle. It followed her as it struck. Once away from Elle and Muriel, Hanna turned on her attacker, making a flying leap directly at the beast, landing on its head as its head came down to her level. With the quickness of a cobra, she buried the sword in its brain, and then yanked it out as it shrieked and rose up. The scepter went flying from Hanna’s grasp, landing a few feet from Elle and Muriel. “Take the scepter!” she shouted as she plunged the sword into the head of the basilisk twice more.

Muriel managed to overcome her fear and went for the scepter. The last basilisk struck as she moved. Hanna took another flying leap off the head of the one she was on while it remained reared up thirty feet. When it began to fall, Hanna jumped like a gazelle from its head...the snake coming down dead as a hammer. As she jumped, Hanna shouted at the remaining basilisk, “Hey big boy! Over here!” The last basilisk turned from its intended target of Muriel and opened its mouth in a hellish roar, meaning to swallow Hanna whole. However, the angle of its attack was severely askew from Hanna’s trajectory, giving Hanna the advantage. In a second, Hanna landed on top of the beast as it writhed around, trying to toss her. “Forget it, bitch!” Hanna shouted as she clung to the beast’s head like a tick. “Only one of us is leaving here.” She moved to slay the beast and it threw her forty feet, stunning her for a moment. The beast instantly descended on her, throwing its great coils around Hanna forming a perimeter making escape impossible. It reared up with its gaping mouth open, hissing as if it were going to strike. Hanna came to in time to see that he was in the worst possible situation. She positioned herself to ward off the head only to see the beast close its mouth and lower its head to look Hanna in the face, almost nose to nose. Its tongue licked out at her...the move puzzling Hanna. The coils did not constrict as the head bobbed and weaved from side to side hypnotically.

The Holy Spirit abruptly whispered to Hanna, “Look it in the eye.”

Hanna immediately complied, looking the monster in the eye. For several moments, they remained locked like that. Muriel and Elle were horrified that Hanna was looking the snake in the eye. “Miss Beowulf!” Muriel called out in helpless concern.

“Esi eli ssoratiac horai,” Hanna hissed and the basilisk’s head backed away a little, rising up. “Let’s shed no more blood here. This fight profits neither of us. You have fulfilled your mandate. Please let us leave in peace,” Hanna added, addressing the snake. Suddenly, the basilisk hissed, showing its teeth, and then uncoiled, turning and slithering away from Hanna into the darkness, leaving Elle and Muriel alone.

The entire confrontation totally flabbergasted Muriel and Elle. They ran over to Hanna as she stood there, panting heavily, letting the flat of the sword rest on her shoulder. “What just happened?” Elle asked pointedly with great fear. “Why didn’t it kill you?”

Hanna looked at her and Muriel, who had the same question on her face. “It didn’t want to fight anymore,” Hanna stated between her pants. “These beasts are extraordinary, capable of great malevolence and intelligence. When I slew three of its fellows, it deemed me capable of killing it before it could kill me, so it decided to let us go.”

“Incredible!” Muriel cried out, “Three guardians slain and communication with the fourth. What can’t you do?”

Hanna let the sword slip off her shoulder as she dropped to one knee. “I can’t tell you whether that snake will change his mind. The beast is the creation of a pure evil mind and it shows. The quicker we get out of here, the better,” she said wearily.

Elle quickly grabbed Hanna by the arm and Muriel grabbed her by the other, pulling her to his feet. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before it comes back,” Muriel said urgently.

Hanna nodded and they helped her toward the exit as the scepter calmed down, reverting to the thirty-foot bubble of light. They moved past the dead basilisk between them and the door. Hanna saw a broken tooth lying near its head and asked, “Muriel, is it safe to take that tooth?”

Muriel shivered as they approached the slain beast. “Only with special equipment; the venom is highly caustic and neural toxic. The smallest of drops can kill a man. Leave it. The venom will remain active and dangerous for many cycles.”

Hanna nodded, saying, “All right, we’ll leave it.” They quickly moved on and within minutes, they were in the passage approaching the doors that Hanna had opened. Muriel stopped at the doors. “What’s wrong, Muriel?” Hanna asked.

“I feel like I’m lost in a dream,” Muriel replied as she looked at the doors. “For six hundred cycles, I’ve been confined by these doors.”

Hanna took her hand and said, “Come sister. Your life has changed in ways that you can’t yet comprehend. Breathe the free air, my friend. Aeolus and Morpheus await us.” She, with Elle’s assistance led Muriel through the doors. They stopped outside the doors and Hanna said, “We cannot let this door remain open. The basilisk is too dangerous a creature to be allowed to roam free in the world. It must remain buried here for all time. Let me see the scepter, Muriel.” She handed the scepter to Hanna and she called out, “Undar soi camine tresia kirac elia Roc basilisak.” Thrice she struck the ground with the scepter as she spoke the words and the door glowed, swinging shut with a loud clang. When the doors closed, the basilisks uncoiled from the chimera and the Hydra, moving back into position around the chimera, Hydra, and Roc. When they stopped, they heard a dull clunk and Hanna was relieved, saying, “That should keep them in there.”

Muriel was once again astonished, asking, “How is it that you speak the old dialect of Amacia? No one has spoken that in tens of thousands of cycles.”

Hanna looked at her with a weary pained smile, saying, “There is much that we must speak about. First, we must get back to Morpheus and Aeolus.” Muriel resigned to the wait and helped Elle get Hanna back to the main cavern where Aeolus, Morpheus, and the rest of Hanna’s team waited.