Lost in the Abyss – Episode 1.8
Blanca and Tanemous face the Fiend with some degree of trepidation. By reputation Balor are synonymous with violence and quick to anger. They are the undisputed terrors of the Abyss. However the four companions have no liking for the proposal that has been laid before them. Only Marcus is in favour of agreeing to it.
“How else are we going to get out of this god forsaken hole?” he argues.
“There are things more important than life or death,” Tanemous chides. “Though I wouldn’t expect you to understand that Marcus. Making deals with Demons is one thing but I will not bend my knee and fight for his amusement.”
Blanca gives Tanemous a sidelong glance. She feels his snipe at Marcus was unwarranted. Particularly since, in her eyes, Tanemous’s own morality has not exactly been above reproach. He chooses a pretty fine-line between things he is willing to do and things he will not.
Marcus scowls but allows Tanemous to ride roughshod over him.
“Let’s vote on it,” Shaaaarghraio rumbles.
Tanemous says, “If it comes to it I’d rather be dead!”
Blanca says, “You know my feelings”
Marcus looks uncomfortable.
Shaaaarghraio says, “Then we’re decided”
However, the Minotaur surprises everyone by suddenly grabbing Blanca and dragging her unceremoniously off towards the doors. “What are you doing?” Blanca shouts angrily, as she struggles to free herself from Shaaaarghraio’s grasp. The Minotaur offers no explanation. Blanca looks back helplessly at the others.
“FOOLS!” the Balor booms, snorting out sulphurous flames, and with a gesture the doors slam shut. Simultaneously the Medusa, the Miner and the Hound Archon all disappear.
With another gesture Marcus is snatched away by an invisible force and hurled against the wall. Tanemous throws an orb of sound at the Demon and snarls angrily, “Shaaaarghraio get back here or I’ll kill you myself!”
The Minotaur reaches the doors. As he attempts to prise them open, he is forced to release his hold on Blanca. She is furious.
“I’m trying to get you out of here” he bellows, as though this justifies his actions.
“You have no right” Blanca spits angrily. “If you think I would be willing to abandon the others to their deaths then you are sadly mistaken.” So saying, she turns and runs back into the hall.
At that moment the Balor springs from the dais brandishing a huge sword that has magically appeared in its hand. It takes an almighty swing at Tanemous, which only narrowly misses. Had it connected, the blow would have surely hewn him in half.
“STOP” the Balor booms, as the Cleric of Bone and Law makes ready to hurl another orb of force. Tanemous suddenly finds himself gripped by the terrible power of the vile Demon’s words and, to his horror, is unable to move.
The Balor’s eyes burn wildly as it raises its sword and swings it downward in a mighty arc. There is little doubt that the blow will be fatal.
At the last instant Blanca throws herself into the blade’s path and deflects it with her halberd. Such is the force of the impact, that it nearly knocks her off her feet and her weapon is torn from her grasp.
As she scrambles to retrieve it, a whip materialises in the Balor’s other hand, and the Demon lashes out. It coils around her waist but, to the Balor’s annoyance, she wriggles free and recovers her weapon, before rising to her feet and standing defiantly between the Balor and Tanemous. As she does so Marcus joins her.
“SUBDUE THEM,” the Balor orders, though it is not clear to whom he is speaking.
Then, without warning, Shaaaarghraio marches up behind them and strikes Tanemous a mighty blow with his Axe. The cleric falls. He is grievously wounded but not yet dead.
“Do something,” Blanca shouts, pushing Marcus toward Shaaaarghraio while she steps forward to face the Balor on her own.
“PUNY HUMAN” it sneers.
Marcus quickly casts a spell, which leaves Shaaaarghraio weakened. The Minotaur staggers and tries to finish Tanemous, but his strength has suddenly departed and he finds it difficult to swing his Great axe with any force.
Bleeding profusely, Tanemous rolls away. “Traitorous dog!” he spits. “I knew you were not to be trusted!”
The Minotaur pushes his weakened body forward. He is determined to finish what he has started.
Seeing that Tanemous is still in grave peril, Blanca turns away from the Balor and runs to help. “Shaaaarghraio, stay back” she pleads, interposing herself between them. “I do not want to hurt you”.
But the Minotaur refuses to heed her appeal. Weakly he swings his Great axe, attempting to swat her aside. Fortunately there is little power behind it and she easily dodges out of its path.
“SHAAAARGHRAIO BACK OFF!” Blanca demands more forcefully.
Meanwhile Tanemous has struggled to his feet and is summoning all the power he can muster. He hurls an orb of electricity at Shaaaarghraio. Energy crackles around the already weakened Minotaur and he collapses.
The Balor looks on; content to watch his adversaries fighting amongst themselves.
Shaaaarghraio’s chest heaves. He struggles to draw a couple of great rasping breaths and then he lies still. Blanca rushes to his side. The Minotaur is dying. She does her utmost to keep him alive.
While she is doing so, the bloodied Cleric of Bone and Law staggers over and begins invoking a spell. Suddenly Blanca realises that Tanemous is intent on draining the last vestiges of life from the stricken Minotaur. She turns on him and pushes him away. The spell is broken. “Tanemous! What are you doing!” she cries in astonishment.
“He has betrayed us Blanca. I warned you that he would” Tanemous accuses.
“Stay away from him. I will not stand by and let you kill him,” Blanca declares.
“He tried to kill me!” Tanemous spits. “This has been brewing between us for some time. Have you not seen it? He has simply been biding his time. If I do not finish him now, then the next time he will send me to my grave.”
“Tanemous turn aside from this course” Blanca pleads, “It can only lead to ruin.”
But Tanemous shakes his head, once again summoning the magical forces that are at his disposal. “I did not choose this course Blanca. It was forced upon me” he answers.
“You are wrong” Blanca assures him “The choice is still yours”
But, at that moment, Marcus steps in and attempts to subdue Tanemous with a spell of his own. Tanemous retaliates with a blast of freezing cold energy that envelops all three of his colleagues. Blanca tries to shield Shaaaarghraio’s body. She knows the Minotaur is unlikely to survive more trauma, but there is little she can do.
“Damn you Tanemous!” she yells into the storm’s fury.
Tanemous hurls a lightning bolt at Marcus before the Balor tires of the scuffle. It gestures and the Cleric of Bone and Law collapses. “SLEEP” booms the Fiend. For a short time Marcus and Blanca try to resist the urge to rest but in the end they too fall unconscious.
For a long time after there is nothing but blackness.
Gradually light and warmth seep back, growing in intensity until the companions awaken suspended in small cages over a river of lava. They are still battered and bruised from the earlier encounter, and have been stripped of all weapons, armour and clothing. The only good thing is that all four of them are still alive. Miraculously, even Shaaaarghraio has survived.
Blanca is relieved. She had believed the Minotaur to be dead.
Despite the group’s precarious position, the dispute between Tanemous and Shaaaarghraio almost immediately rears its head. It is clear that their simmering animosity has turned to hatred.
Blanca tries to placate them and convince them that they must all work together in order to stay alive, but her arguments fall on deaf ears. Her colleagues hurl threats at each other repeatedly, and Tanemous seems to consider that everyone has turned against him. When he starts criticising Blanca for her intransigence once again, she gives up and leaves them to their squabbling.
The argument continues for some time, with no sign of letting up. A day passes in which the four only seem capable of either bickering or sitting in moody silence.
That evening the cages containing Shaaaarghraio and Tanemous are raised. The Balor has come for them. “These two will make a fine warm up for the main event,” he comments before they are led away.
Blanca and Marcus are left roasting in the intense heat. They do not see their friends again.
Two more days pass and then the Medusa comes for them. They have had no news of their companions in that time.
“Where are Shaaaarghraio and Tanemous?” Blanca demands as their cages are raised.
“If I were you I’d worry more about my own neck” the Medusa suggests.
She informs them that the gladiatorial contest is about to commence and that they are to prepare for combat. Then they too are led away.
A short while later, they find themselves standing on a large rock fragment, floating in a massive pool of lava. Their armour and weapons have been returned. All around the pool are stands containing myriad Demons and Petitioners. Above them, on a massive throne sits the Balor. Apparently this is the arena in which they will be fighting.
After a few seconds, other contestants start appearing on similar rock fragments that float in the lava only a short distance away. First the Miner, then two Dwarves, followed by a tall, demonic humanoid with a goat’s head, wielding a flail, then a radiant, lithe bodied, angelic female and finally the Dog-headed Hound Archon that they had seen before.
The Demon with the goat’s head raises his fists to the spectators who roar with approval. He is obviously a favourite amongst the crowd.
The Balor stands and the rowdy spectators fall silent. The Fiend addresses the assembled contestants. “Fight well and to the crowd’s liking and you will be spared” he bellows. “Now, let the games begin”
To the crowd’s delight a desperate struggle ensues.
At first Blanca is not sure whether she is willing to fight for the Balor’s amusement, but her instinct for self-preservation soon takes over and she ends up fighting for her own survival.
Marcus casts a flight spell on them both, so their rather precarious position on the floating rock fragment is less problematic. Though Blanca has seen magic dispelled often enough to remain cautious about where she does her flying.
While the goat-headed Demon enters into combat with the Dwarves, and the fallen Hound Archon attacks the radiant Astral Deva, the Miner engages Marcus and Blanca. It seems that the outcome of their previous encounters has caused the Demon to develop a grudge against them.
After a protracted struggle, Blanca leaves Marcus fending off the Miner in order to aid the Astral Deva, who seems to be in trouble.
Blanca’s subsequent assault on the Hound Archon keeps it occupied long enough for the Astral Deva to heal herself. And then the two join forces and start to get the upper hand, but then the Miner bombards them repeatedly with evil and chaotic energies until the Astral Deva collapses.
With Blanca also sickened, the odds are well and truly back in the Hound Archon’s favour, and it launches a furious assault against her. She is soon badly wounded and back on her heels, though she defiantly refuses to succumb. Somehow she hangs on until Marcus comes to her aid.
With the Hound Archon fully engaged with its assault on Blanca, the young swordsman turns himself invisible and approaches it undetected from behind. First he cripples it with a succession of well-placed sword thrusts and then he finishes it.
Blanca then tries to heal the Astral Deva but finds that it is beyond her power. “Be at peace,” she offers. “May your soul find its way free from this terrible place.”
As she painfully stands, she becomes aware of a growing disturbance amongst the crowd. There are screams and the remaining combatants have stopped fighting to watch as black tentacles emerge from newly formed tunnels behind the stands.
Suddenly a number of tall humanoid figures covered in black tendrils appear amongst the throng. The tentacular mass writhes around them, enveloping nearby spectators, merging with them and twisting their bodies toward some unholy design.
Roaring in fury the Balor leaps across the arena, sword in hand, flapping its huge wings to allow it to cover the distance. It lands amidst the dark abomination and starts carving into the tentacles with mighty strokes.
Five of the tall black alien figures immediately converge on the Balor and a fearsome battle rages.
For a short time the Balor appears to have the upper hand but gradually the alien figures wear it down. The outcome is inevitable.
Blanca looks around and realises that, in the confusion, the Miner and the Goat-Headed Demon have fled from the arena. Marcus and the two Dwarves are a short distance away, making similar plans.
Marcus beckons her to join them. “Mardike and Gendwar are about to leave. They have offered to take us with them” he hurriedly explains.
One of the Dwarves nods and without further ado begins casting a spell.
While Blanca looks up into the stands once again, she feels her body slowly turning ethereal and drifting away. At that moment tendrils are forcing their way into the Balor’s body. The Fiend convulses and begins to change.
