The Hall of Heroes

27. - The Tomb-herders

Looking in the empty eye sockets of the hooded skull before him, Crefar realized that the creature was not silent on purpose. It was all bare bone, no throat or any other means of uttering speach. Communicating with this being was not going to be easy.

"Eh, we've come to help. We are friends. We want to talk." Crefar aided his simple sentences with gestures.

The skeleton looked back at its comrades in the wagon in a moment of awkward silence. Then, he turned and waved at Crefar and Duzz to follow.

The contents of the wagon rattled as it creaked along the sandy path with Crefar and Duzz trailing at a distance behind it. They could see now that the wagon was filled to the brim with bones - mostly human, by the looks of it.

"Th-they g-g-give me the shivers." Duzz said, leaning to Crefar.

"Well, we can't be exactly picky about who we ask for help in our situation. Remember, in many respects, we are just like them." Crefar reminded her.

"Wh-wh-what do you sup-p-pose they do with the b-b-bones?" Duzz asked, not really wanting an answer.

"My guess is spare parts." Crefar sneered.

Cresting a ridge into a valley between two larger hills, an incredible sight appeared ahead of them. Covered from view on all but one side by the hills, there stood what once probably was nothing more than a graveyard, that had been changed beyond recognition.

It was like a fort with several levels of outer defence surrounded by high fences and a close running ravine cutting it off from two sides. What appeared as a gigantic tomb with symbols that both the villagers recognized as dieties of the afterlife carved within its walls, stood at the center of it. Gigantic arches like feet of a large spider connected four tall towers to the central tomb.

As their procession approached a large gate in the high fence, two skeletons stepped out into position atop high pillars surrounding the gate, each one holding a rusty old crossbow and watching them intently. The gate opened without any visible signal and the wagon creaked inside into a large entry yard in front of another gate leading into the first court around the tomb.

Crefar and Duzz entered the first gate, nervously looking at the skeletons with crossbows atop the towers. The large gate closed soundlessly behind them. From here, they could see that the front of the central tomb had a stone stairway that led all the way up into what seemed like a crowning building on top of the tomb.

As they entered, a broken up voice whispered in their ears, though they could not see any source of it: "Welcome to the realm of the dead, travelers. You have aided our bretheren, which makes us endebted to you. That is why you have been given passage into our realm. Who are you and what is your bussiness with the dead?"

Duzz turned to Crefar, who seemed just as unnerved as she was. Steeling his courage, he took up the conversation: "We seek an audience with the necromancers. We've had an accident with a place you may know called the Hall of Heroes and we were transported across time against our wills. We were hoping you could help us." Crefar winked at Duzz to signal how well he handled the negotiations.

"The Halls of Heroes do not make mistakes." the sourceless rasping voice whispered. "They only offer a possibility to plea across time."

"Hah. Yet here we are, two prisoners inhabiting foreigners' bodies. We seek a way to return to our proper bodies. Can you help us?"

There was a long pause. They looked around the large courtyard and saw the skeletons that arrived with them already unloading the cart onto one of the many piles of bones and rubble that were scattered all around the inner fences of the courtyard, making it a sort of a junkyard ossuary.

"Souls of the dead reside within you. We will honor the dead with an audience." the voice whispered.

Crefar sighed and turned with a smile to Duzz.

"Wait for the night." was the response that sounded in their ears. "We will meet to discuss your problem then."

Duzz started looking around for a place to camp, but Crefar was discomforted by the response. "The night?" he said out loud. "And what are we supposed to do here until then? And what if more soldiers come to attack? Are you going to leave us out here?"

Duzz tried to console him, saying, "I-i-it's OK. One n-n-night doesn't hurt. W-w-we've waited so l-l-long already."

Crefar turned to her and whispered, "You don't get it, do you? This is a typical diplomatic move. They're never gonna see us. They'll just let us wait out here until we can't stand it anymore and leave."

There was no response. Duzz curled her lips and sat down, taking out her tools she used to prepare new arrows.

"Come on!" Crefar continued shouting into the still air of the graveyard around him. "We've been trapped inside some strangers bodies for weeks! Help us out! It's your responsibility, after all! That Hall of Heroes was your work, right? The necromancers built it, so you have to answer for it! Come on!"

There was still no response. The skeletons with crossbows stationed on the towers kneeled down to rest.

"Just tell us what are we supposed to do! We've come this far! It wasn't easy finding information about the necromancers to start with. We can figure out the rest ourselves! Just guide us in the right direction. Like for example, that black obelisk?"

There was an immediate effect to him saying that, as if some soundwaves in the air crackled. The two skeletons in the towers stood up and aimed their crossbows at the two, the second gate into the inner court started opening, and behind it, they could hear innumerable sounds of rattling bones.

"Well, that got their at-t-tention!" Duzz said.

As the gate opened, they saw that the space behind it was filled with skeletons of all sizes and shapes. They looked as if they were snatched from their daily work and went to meet the newcomers. Some of them had pickaxes, some were carrying shovels and chisels, others had saws. Many of them were armed with regular weapons.

They started flooding into the yard and surrounding Duzz and Crefar, as if they all were interested in whatever the newcomers were bringing. When the rattling of bare bones finally ended, there must have been several hundered skeletons in the yard with Creafr and Duzz, who were cowering in the middle. Duzz's squirrel refused to even look out of her hair.

"Th-th-this was a b-b-bad idea!" Duzz whispered to Crefar, who was eyeing the skeletons around.

"Stay cool." he said. "They aren't attacking, right? So long as they're not attacking, we're fine."

"How do you know about the obelisk?" the voice that they heard in their ears only rasping before, now thundered as if they could hear it all around them. "How is it that you have learned the secret of the necromancers? Answer!"

Crefar hesitated briefly, but after a moment, he stepped forward.

"From my god, the great Man Há-Tan!"

Rattling and scraping could be heard from the crowd of skeletons all around.

"We have never heard of such an entity! Speak the truth, or perish!"

The crowd of skeletons drew nearer to the duo. Crefar raised his hands into the air and two pockets of flame whirled into existence above them.

"Watch the power!" he called out. "This is the power granted me by my god, the great titan of the primal elements! Inside this flame, you can see his angry eyes! Any who doubt his existence will be burned by this flame! I do not lie, I only follow! The great Man Há-Tan is more real than me!"

The skeletons drew back, seeing the magic emanating from Crefar.

"An ancient god, you say?" the voice thundered again.

Crefar did not answer, only turned his eyes that gleamed red towards the building on the top of the tomb.

"You have magic in you." the voice thundered. "We believe you. Come up to the overseers tower. The court of the dead must decide your fate."