| "Why me?" Kat asked, desperately. Relnor looked at Kat's adorable face. "It's you, Kat," Relnor said, smiling. "You are aware of that black triangle of fur on your brow, aren't you?" Indeed, Kat, even though a brown pantheress, had a triangular patch of black fur on her forehead that pointed downward between her eyes. "What of it, sir?" Kat asked, deeply concerned. "I could just be superstitious," Relnor said, "but the alignment of the triangle of the mask with the triangle of fur on your head might bring you luck." He extended his arm to Kat. "Here, take the mask and put it on your face." Kat reluctantly took the mask from Relnor's hand. He then led her to a mirror in the next room; Clara and Salem followed close behind. Kat lowered her face into the cold bone and buckled the straps behind her head. As she fastened the leather belts, she felt gripped by a strange energy; it was as if her entire face had been replaced entirely by a newer one. Kat looked up into the mirror. Her eyes widened as she witnessed her new image; her eyes glowed bright red, her teeth and mouth were filled with fresh blood and venom, and her otherwise beautiful face was marred and twisted with pallid, ashen, black fur. Kat, in terror, shyed away from the mirror. "I look hideous!" Kat cried, fumbling to undo the straps. She was finally able to remove the mask. "Precisely," Relnor said. "You'll be so horrifying to look upon that you'll have no trouble dealing with the horrors that might be lurking in the cave." Kat looked again at the mask; it still seemed outwardly harmless. "If I must wear it," she said, "I will go into the cave and retrieve that sword." Relnor led Kat, Clara, and Salem to the cave, which was located not too far from his home; he found it once more not too far from the forest path. It was simply carved into the mountain, but it was unknown as to how far it would stretch. "It is here that you might find the first half of the sword," Relnor said. "We will return to you when we find it," Clara said. "Be careful down there," Relnor warned. "Clara, make sure you guard Kat as she makes her way into the bowels of the cave." "I will," Clara said. "Now, we will be off." Kat strapped the mask onto her face once more and walked into the cave with sword in hand. Clara followed close behind, also with her sword drawn. As they walked, Clara found it difficult to verbally communicate with Kat, as she was uncomfortable with looking at her face as it was enchanted by the mask. Salem walked behind them, carrying their supplies. The cave was almost entirely pitch black; it took quite a while before the girls' eyesight became accustomed to the darkness. It soon became apparent that someone indeed had been in the cave before; Kat and Clara noticed that the cave had a downward staircase that seemed to widen as they walked upon it. As the girls strolled cautiously down the seemlingly endless stretch of steps, Clara pointed ahead. "Look," she said, pointing down. "There is light; we may be at the end of this cave." Kat looked down. "I see it," she said. "It seems to be almost orange or yellow." Kat and Clara walked quietly down the stairs and saw not an exit, but instead a spread-out area with torches on the walls. The circular floor was not decorated, but at its edges were nine doorways; all were open. Clara turned to Kat, nervously. "Are you sure this is a cave?" she asked. "This may have been a cave," Salem whispered, "but it's not anymore." "What is it, then?" Clara asked, looking around her. Kat paused, then spoke. "It's not a cave," Kat whispered. "It's a tomb. We are walking among the dead and decaying." "How can you tell?" Clara asked. "Only a tomb would have this many doors open," she answered, "allowing for ease of transfer of bodies. We must be careful; it is likely that Relnor was attacked by zombies." Kat looked to her left and pointed to the first door. "Let's go this way, and stay near me. I will protect both of you." The group continued on into the next room; Salem managed to dislodge a torch from the wall to light the way. The room seemed to be devoid of anything useful. The three panthers walked onward into the edges of the room, but as they reached the walls, Salem's torch flame suddenly flicked and disappeared, shrouding the tomb once more in blackness. Clara became somewhat frightened, now finding it difficult to see anything. "What just happened?" she whispered. The room then became increasingly cold. "It is freezing in here," Salem said. "It's--wait!!" "What is it?" Kat asked. "Listen!" Salem whispered. All were still and silent as the sound of shrieks and cries was heard; it became much louder with each passing second. Then a light was seen in a far-off door at the other end of the room. The light grew brighter and the noise grew louder, and soon the source of both was detected. From around the corner came dozens of little monsters; even in the light from the torches they held, their faces were not visible. They had twisted arms and legs and came in droves upon the adventuring heroes. "Get ready!" Clara shouted, as the monsters converged on them. But just as Clara was about to strike, all the monsters seemed to skid on their heels to a halt a few feet in front of the adventurers. Why did they all stop? Clara wondered, maintaining her stance. All the monsters eyed Kat; she stood high over them, her once beautiful face turned demonic by her mask. She looked about them, with her eyes glowing red. The little beasts looked up at Kat and cowered at her appearance; they were backing away, afraid to touch her, let alone even look at her. Can I control them? Kat thought, looking out into the sea of lesser beasts. "Stand aside!" Kat shouted. Next page >> |