Orin The Great Ch. 05

"Will the demon come after me, do you think?" Orin wondered.

"It could." Sundri replied first. "Even if you go together, the demon might have a go at you. Get me out, and we will see if I don't catch that last cretin and stick him into a very small pebble!"

"Can you do that, Sundri?" Orin asked.

"Of course I can!" The sorceress snapped back. "The only reason they caught me was because... Because I was distracted!"

When Bartram tired out, Orin took over. The men carefully cut into the tree, for fear of hurting the sorceress, and also because they might unbalance the tree and cause it to fall with her still in it. Most of the day was gone, and all they had managed to uncover was a hole wide enough for Sundri to poke her head through.

"This might be enough." She told them. "I need water, as much as you can carry."

Neither Orin nor Bartram could guess why.

"Do you see this orange mixture leaking out?" She explained. "It is a mix of tree sap and human blood. It is an ensorcelled mix. While I am surrounded by it, or even smeared by it, my magic is doused like mud flung into a fire. The water will help to dilute the demonic concoction keeping me trapped."

The men had better luck this time, as several barrels of water were found just inside one of the mines. Together, they tipped a barrel over and rolled it out to where Sundri was. After gathering buckets and a spout, which were also found in the mine, they went to pour water into the hole they'd made.

"It isn't too much, is it?" Orin worried. "You won't drown, will you?"

"I am well, Orin." Sundri replied. It was clear from her even tone that she was angry at having been so easily contained. "That is enough water. Step back while I change my body into that of a bird's. It will take all of my energies, as there is still much residue left inside this hollow."

The men moved away, and to make certain they would be safe, they moved a second time. Sundri was heard chanting in a low voice for a time, Apparently, her spell did not work, as she was later heard growling and cursing. Orin and Bartram both saw it as a miracle, when a finch was finally seen perched on the edge of the hole. The small bird chirped out all manner of noise, before it hopped down between the two men. A moment after, and the bird fluttered into one of the buckets and began taking a quick bath.

"There is still orange sap on it." Bartram noted, as he peered in.

When the bird had cleaned itself sufficiently, it hopped to the ground. In front of the eyes of the two watchers, it transformed into the familiar form of Sundri. The old woman stood there bothered and nude.

"My clothes were stained with that vulgar sap." Sundri said, scouring the ground until she came to the bodies of the two dead demons. "You both did well to kill those vile cretins. We must burn those bodies right away. The demons are still attached to them, but if they manage to get loose, they might decide to possess one of you. Start a fire for me, while I find a pair of suitable stones to imprison those devils into."

The men complied with the order. In short time, and as the afternoon gave way to night, they had a small fire going. Sundri had found her stones and was ready.

"Bartram." She instructed. "You are to toss the bodies into the fire, one at a time. When the demons attempt to flee from the flames, I will draw them into these stones and bind them so they cannot wander. This will be a fitting punishment for what they did to me. Orin, keep your distance from us."

"Wait, Orin." The archer called out. "There is something you can do for us. Take that tool sack we emptied out. Cut in half to make it a longer length of fabric, and then wash it out as best you can."

"That dirty sack?" Orin asked, not seeing the point. "What for?"

"Sundri needs something to wear, doesn't she?"

"He's right, Orin." Sundri agreed. "It will be getting cold tonight. I hardly have enough magic to do this binding ritual, and nothing at all left over to draw another set of clothes from my magic hiding place."

"Aren't we going back to the fort now?" Orin assumed.

Both Sundri and Bartram looked at him as if he should have understood.

"Why can't we return to the fort?" Orin asked.

"Bartram, will you tell him?" The sorceress sighed.

"There is still one demon loose out here." The archer said. "If we don't catch it, we will not have accomplished what we set out to do here. There is still a great danger to the fort, and to ourselves."

"Oh." Orin replied.

"Demons do not like being surrounded by water." The sorceress said, after plunking the two possessed stones into a bucket of water.

"Why not?" Orin asked.

"No one knows." She replied. "The demons won't tell a magician, because then the magician would tell others and it would reveal their vulnerability. I have put bindings on the stones, but in time the demons might chip away at my magic and get their selves out. Because the stones are in a bucket full of water, the demons will not escape my binds."

"And now we wait for that last one to come and attack us?" Bartram queasily asked.

"Yes." Sundri said.

They kept watch for a few hours. When that last devil Frood did not approach, the sorceress gave up. She created a ball of light to guide them and told the two men to follow her into the mines. Since Orin was the best swordsman, he went in first. Bartram was entrusted to carry the water bucket.

"It would be easier if we knew which mine the demons plagued first." Sundri said, as they went deeper and deeper into the mountain.

"Do you think the demons were buried here?" Bartram inquired.

"Yes, I do. The miners disturbed something, and the demons came out with a cruel vengeance because of it. What did the constable say, that the miners were following a new vein of copper when it all started?"

"I think that was it."

Orin was dismayed to see the main tunnel burrow out into minor passageways.

"It isn't so bad." Bartram told him. "You can see which tunnels are dusty and full of cobwebs, and which ones are not. The tunnel the demons emerged from must be one of the more recent ones."

"We will find it." Sundri said decisively. "It must have a strong residue of magic than I can hone in on."

When the first mine produced no leads, they went into a second. This was the mine where the water barrels were stored.

"Look here, Orin." Bartram pointed out where several holes had been chipped into the rock. "Do you see these holes? They were made by iron chisels and are angled at a downward slant. Next, the miners will put wooden wedges into them, and douse the wedges with water. The wedges will absorb the water and grow larger, and the pressure will be enough to crack one layer of rock away from the wall."

The young man had a chance to study the holes, before they moved on.

"This is the correct mine." Sundri informed them. "I can feel the traces of magic."

Because he was jittery, Bartram kept talking. "Look there, Orin. This wall of rock is more jagged than the rest. Now look at all the old ashes on the ground. In this case, great fires were set up to burn the rock. This was done, at a guess, for two or three days. Once the rock was hot enough, cool water was thrown onto it. This causes the rock to explode and reveal what lies behind it. If a man is not fast enough, the rock will burst in front of him and shower him with deadly shrapnel."

"Remind me never to work as a miner." Orin said.

"Sometimes, it is the only work in a town that pays well." Bartram shrugged.

Sundri laughed. "By comparison, being an adventurer is much safer! Witches and demons and ghosts, oh, my!"

"It is good to hear you laughing again." Bartram said, timidly.

"I know you bedded Orin." Sundri admitted. "I was nearly angry enough to turn you into a potato over it. Since you helped to get me out of that tree, I have decided to forgive you." She was heard giggling a moment later. "Perhaps I will only turn you into a carrot for a short time."

"I did not bed Orin." The archer admitted. "At least, not completely."

"Don't lie to me. I can see it in both of your faces."

"He is telling the truth." Orin defended his friend. "We did not bed each other."

Sundri was walking ahead of them at the time. She turned to scrutinize their faces, but did not tarry too long. A moment passed, before her attention was focused on the end of the tunnel they stood in.

"And here it is." She said, drawing her ball of amber light closer to the rock.

Orin peered over the woman's shoulder. He observed a bundle of cloth in dark brown, embedded into the actual rock. A portion of the hardened material had been broken into, either by a chisel or a pickaxe.

"What is this material?" Sundri wondered, reaching out to touch it. "It feels a bit like silk, but it is something else. Whatever it is, it is full of magic. Old magic. Very old magic. I see what happened now. The miners discovered this fabric embedded into the rock. Perhaps they were curious, or perhaps they thought it might be valuable. In either case, they dug into it with their tools and punctured through the magic layer. This is what allowed the demons to escape."

The two men kept quiet as the sorceress studied the rock further.

"It could be useful for me to study the material." Sundri mused. "Orin, Bartram, go back to the mouth of the cave and bring me as many buckets of water as you can carry. I will heat the rock up until it is soft, and use the water to keep the material from drying up and burning. Once I have it loose, I can take it out for study."

"Won't the last demon pester us?" Bartram questioned.

"No." She replied. "Just as I felt the power of the two demons diminish after you and Orin killed them, the third demon will know that I have discovered where it was kept imprisoned. It will keep away from us, because it fears being caught again. We will cause it to follow us, and it will follow us, because we have its two kin trapped and soon we will have this magical material taken out."

"Do we want the demon to follow us?" Orin asked.

"Of course we do. This is how you save the fort, Orin. The third demon will follow us, and it will leave the mines in peace. The miners and the farmers can get back to work, the soldiers at the fort will have valuable ores to protect once again, and when words gets around, more men will come and the prostitutes will lie on their backs and make a lot of money. Do you see? Everyone will be happy again!"

"You have a strange sense of humor, Sundri." Bartram smacked his lips.

"It isn't all roses, I'm afraid." The sorceress sobered up quickly. "We must tell the people of the fort the entire story. If they chop down any of the thicker trees near the mine, they will find all manner of cadavers and skeletons trapped inside. These are all that is left of the many people that went missing."

After a long, somber moment, Sundri added. "This is how people will remember your name, Orin, by telling them the full story and letting them retell it in bigger and grander versions. This is how your name will live forever."

"I understand." Orin nodded.

"Do you?" She wondered. "Perhaps you do, as in some ways you are very wise for your age. I have work to do. The two of you can sleep or mine for gold, whatever you want, but only after you fetch me a few buckets of water. The people don't need to know about this magic material, but they can be told everything else come morning. After that, we will lead the demon away to a place where I can catch it, and then I can dispose of all three at once."

"Is it that easy for you to manipulate demons?" Bartram asked.

Sundri looked over her shoulder and smirked. "Do you think I haven't done this before?"

Both Orin and Bartram shuddered at the words. While they did care for the old woman, every so often she would remind them of how dangerous she really was.