I am Iktomi, the Ancient one.
Seeking the Halber Drache
The Ancient being led the unlikely group down the long, dark tunnel that led to a place of safety.
“How much further is it?” Yarsmith cautiously inquired as he tried to peer through the darkness. The black-robed sorceress tried to silence him, but he would have none of it. “We followed you because you promised us safety. So, how much further?”
The black-robed elder deity stopped walking and turned to Yarsmith. “You will be careful not to disrespect dorcha Brigid. So far, she has proven her loyalty more than you have.” As usual, the ancient chaos deity never raised his voice in anger. “If you don’t like it, you can return to that basement.”
Despite his courage, the assassin took a step back and brushed his hands down his arms. The last thing I want to do is go against that soldier again, at least not without more men. “That’s fine. I’ll just follow you.”
The cowl on the black hood dipped his head in amusement. “Then at least try not to doubt me, assassin. I won’t betray you.”
“Fine, fine, whatever you say,” Yarsmith smoothly said, returning to his spot in the line. When the red-tinged eyes fell on him, Yarsmith shivered.
The chaos deity chuckled as he returned to the long, dark tunnel. “It’s not much farther yet.” The cowl shook from side to side. “We will be going to the last place I saw the halber-drache. With luck, he’s still there. If not, we’ll have to find him.”
Brigid was perfectly willing to take him at his word, and it looked like Yarsmith wanted to question the chaos deity but held himself in check. “If he’s not there, how will you find him?” he asked calmly.
Without missing a step, the chaos god stated, “There is only one halber-drache; I will be able to find him.”
“If you say so,” The tall man at the back of the line carrying a maul, earning a nod from the assassin.
“Loyalty is to be admired,” the deity acknowledged. “You’ve gathered a good group.”
Faced with that acknowledgment, Yarsmith settled for waiting in silence.
The deity seemed utterly calm, as did Brigid, following along behind him. “Ah, here we are,” the deity whispered as he stopped and placed his right hand on a part of the dark tunnel wall. After tracing a rune, he tapped his fingers against it, and a black hole opened, and he walked through it into the cavern beyond.
When you have power, you don’t worry about being betrayed. The assassin thought as he stepped into the cavern and peered around. It’s warm. I wonder where we are.
The other three men stepped out into the cavern and blinked as they looked around. “Where are we?” The maul wielder asked. “It’s warmer than it was in Eola.” He fingered the haft of his maul. “Are we down south or in a deep cavern?”
“Maybe both,” Yarsmith replied with a shrug. “Does it matter? We are safe.” At least for now.
The man wielding the maul glanced up at the roof tunnel. He was a big man, almost six-foot-tall, and the ceiling was about three feet over his head. “This Halber-Drache fellow, how tall is he?”
The dark one chuckled. “Saldren Halber-Drache is almost seven-foot-tall with two-foot-long horns.”
Brigid froze and looked up, “Horns? Is Saldren an infernal, Ancient one?”
The cowled figure sighed softly and stopped, forcing everyone else to stop behind him. With a shake of his head, he turned and peered out from under his hood. “This is going to get tedious, calling me Ancient One.” He seemed to look beyond them and nodded to himself. “My name,” he said, lowering the cowl to reveal the face of an older man with medium brown skin, dark black hair, and jet-black eyes. “My name is Iktomi.” He looked from face to face, seeing the admiration on the mage’s face and the look on Yarrowsmith’s face as if he had figured out who he was talking to and following. “You may call me Iktomi, Lord Iktoma, or if you wish, Ancient one.”
Brigid seemed to gush as she knelt at his feet. “It is an honor, Maighstir.”
Iktomi turned his eyes to the four men. “I know you, Indigo Yarrowsmith, assassin.” He indicated the other three. “I do not know you.”
The maul wielder lowered his hammer and leaned against the handle. “Jon Hamner.” He gestured over his shoulder to the two with crossbows. “These two are Yan and Hannah.” The two lowered their hoods to reveal a set of twins: one male with copper hair and blue eyes and a female with silver hair and green eyes. Both nodded in respect and then lifted their hoods.
The chaos god pulled his cowl back up. “Saldren Is a half-drache. You’ll know him when you see him.” With the introductions over, he turned and marched down the tunnel.
Yarrowsmith glanced up, noticing the scratches in the ceiling. “Half-Drache.” He blinked. “Do you mean that this Saldren is a half-dragon?”
“Yes,” Iktomi replied. “That is his name. Halber-Drache.”
Halfway down the tunnel, they came to a T-intersection, and Iktomi turned, looking both ways, before taking the right tunnel. They passed several doorways, which beyond lay a contrived barracks and storage area.
Beyond the doorways, they came to another intersection guarded by two soldiers wearing chain-mail. Upon seeing the six strangers, they dropped their spears diagonally across the corridor. “Who are you? How did you get here?”
Before Yarrowsmith’s companions could draw their weapons for the challenge, Iktomi stopped them with a raised hand.
“I am Iktomi, the Ancient one.” He stated, “These are my companions. We are looking for Saldren Halber-Drache.”
Upon hearing his name, one of the guards examined him closer and called over his shoulder. “Sarge!”
“What do you need, Vizo?” A voice called from the room behind the two guards.
“There’s someone here looking for the boss?”
“What are you talking about?” The voice called back. “The only entrance is on level two; we would have heard if someone came in.”
“I know that sarge, but six people are here.” The first guard retorted.
“I swear to god if you are pulling something,” The sergeant yelled as he walked up behind the two guards. “I’m going to …” His threat tapered off as he caught sight of the six and closely examined the cowled figure. “Who are you?”
“I am Iktomi, the Ancient one. I am looking for Saldren Halber-Drache.”