David Bishop and the Mystic of Creation T.C. Crawford (icecream ebook reader txt) 📖

a constant reminder of their former lives within the bustling capitol – a former life they both suspected they would probably never enjoy again. They watched as the light rose ever higher into the sky before finally bursting in a dazzling explosion, leaving trails of flames plummeting in smoky streaks towards the tops of the trees.

A large dark mass started to seep out of the tree line in the far distance where the Great Road entered the Outer Woods and led to Eldergate.

They shared a silent look of confusion before the realization hit them and they immediately picked up their hammers and started banging incessantly on the warning bells, sending the soldiers below into a frenzy.

The time they were dreading had finally arrived - the demon army was coming.

Chapter VII

Reingard and Holzer led David, Erin, and Tyrius for miles through the eternal darkness of the Southern Tunnels. They would stop occasionally to check the map when passing an unexpected fork in the tunnel or when coming across fallen debris that they would have to clear, but for the most part their journey was unceasing and grueling, leaving the company in horrible spirits.

They had already passed the rock formation that looked like a horse hours prior and had expected to come to the salt mines already, but there had been no indication that they had arrived. The walls were still moist and comprised of what appeared to be some type of limestone, all covered in the same endless chisel mark pattern that they had become familiar with over the past two days.

“Holzer, are you absolutely certain we are headed in the right direction?” asked Tyrius, beginning to get concerned.

“Yes, yes…the map said to take the first right after the Horse Head formation, and that is what we did!” said Holzer adamantly.

“Wait, I thought we took a left?” asked Reingard, alarmed.

“No, it was most certainly a right!” said Holzer, annoyed. “According to the map, we should be reaching the salt mines any moment now!” he reassured them.

“But what about the rubble we had to clear away a while back?” asked David, “Are you sure that didn’t open up an alternate path you weren’t aware of?” he asked.

“Of course, I’m sure!” replied Holzer angrily, “If this passage wasn’t the original one, we wouldn’t be seeing these chisel marks all over the walls still!” he said, pointing to the chips in the walls and ceiling.

“Yes…that is, unless they had made multiple tunnels for some reason.” interjected Tyrius.

“Why would they do that? And why wouldn’t they have a fork in the path showing they made another tunnel?” asked Holzer, looking over the map once again in case he missed anything.

“Look, I’m sure we’re heading in the right direction. Nothing on the map indicates distance, remember? It’s possible that we just expected the mines to be closer to the formation than they really were.” said Erin, tired of hearing the constant bickering between the men.

“She’s right. Let’s just press on. I’m sure we will reach the mines shortly.” said Tyrius, catching the hint.

They continued walking on in silence, knowing that the first one to speak would risk inciting another round of arguments and none of them currently had the patience to deal with that right now. For the time being, all they could think about was getting out of this endless tunnel and into the outer world once again.

David silently wondered how Dwarves would ever be so at home in such a place as beneath the ground. The air was stuffy and damp, the silence deafening, and the smell…well…it kind of smells like…

“The ocean?” asked David aloud.

“What was that?” asked Erin, startled by the seemingly random outburst.

“The ocean! It smells like the ocean!” said David, suddenly catching on to his train of thought.

“Yes! I can smell it too, we must be close to the salt mines!” said Erin, suddenly excited.

David licked his finger and ran it along the walls before sticking it back in his mouth – it tasted of salt!

“I think we are in the salt mines!” said David, encouraging the others to do the same.

They all quickly complied and each of them immediately licked their fingers and acknowledged they were in fact in the mines, giving them a much-needed reassurance that they were in fact still headed in the right direction, and would soon be coming to the end of their long, dark road.

It wasn’t long before the rocky walls began to show signs of where sconces once held torches along the walls, their rusty iron brackets still protruding intermittently along the tunnel.

The darkness started to become less thick, and the companions could feel the dank, moist air slowly give way to a more fresh, gentle breeze for the first time in what felt like eternity.

As they pressed on, a small light began to shine at the end of the tunnel, indicating they had finally arrived on the other side. The companions rejoiced, knowing they were finally through the mountain and would soon be breathing fresh mountain air and feeling the warmth of the sun on their skin, something they had missed more than anything else.

It didn’t take them long before they reached the outer parts of the tunnel and the darkness gave way to the blinding light of the surface world. They each had to shield their eyes to give them time to adjust slowly, but once they did, they were awestruck at the sight before them.

They were high up the side of the mountains and could see miles and miles of winding paths and rolling hills leading up to a vast desert plain. A long snaking river cut through the landscape leading from the mountains to their right and down through the rolling hills and valley floor below, leaving lush vegetation on its borders as far as the eye could see. Far off in the distance, David thought he could almost see the mouth of the river meeting the sparkling blue waters of a vast ocean, with little