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

to rise high into the sky, creating a wall of flame to escape behind.

When the flames finally subsided enough for their pursuers to see they had escaped, they jumped over the line of fire and followed hot in pursuit.

David and the others knew they couldn’t outrun them. They were still worn out from the previous day’s journey and the lack of sleep the night before. It wouldn’t be long before their reserves were depleted, and they would be too exhausted to go on.

They only had a few hundred yards between them and their pursuers and the gap was closing with each passing moment.

Just as they felt they could go on no longer, the unimaginable happened – the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them whole into the darkness.

They fell into the ground and landed hard on a smooth rocky bottom several feet below the surface where they just stood. The barbarians were the first to gather their wits and jumped up, looking around for their pursuers.

They found themselves in a dark tunnel several feet beneath the surface, a narrow shaft of moonlight pouring in from the hole above where they had fallen through. Apparently, the tunnel was close to the surface and had eroded too much to support their weight, causing the ground to cave in.

They brushed off the dirt and dust from their clothes before checking to make sure the others were okay.

David had suffered a slight blow to the head and was slowing getting up, rubbing his head, and cursing under his breath.

Erin was now up and was working on getting Tyrius on his feet – he seemed to be struggling the most out of the group, but given his old age, that seemed reasonable enough.

When they had all brushed off the fall, they heard the yelling of their pursuers and the thumping of dozens of feet approaching the area above them. The earth shook and dirt and debris fell from the ceiling of the tunnel as they approached.

They each hid in the shadows away from the shaft of moonlight, hoping they would pass on by.

Erin held her breath as the men neared. She knew if they found the hole that they would follow them inside. They would probably follow them to the ends of the earth if they could.

As she listened intently, the footsteps began to slow before suddenly speeding up again, eventually fading away into the distance.

They hadn’t seen the hole!

They each let out an audible sigh of relief, happy to finally be free from the pursuit of the blood-thirsty bandits.

They looked around to assess their new surroundings. They had fallen too far from the surface to be able to climb back up the way they came. The walls were too slick and smooth, and the opening was too high above their heads to try to lift each other out. Their only option was to try to find a way out of the dark tunnel they now found themselves in.

With no maps, and no earthly idea of where it would take them, Tyrius lit the orb on the crest of his staff with a simple wave of his hand and began leading them into the darkness.

Chapter XII

David and the others walked in near total darkness for what felt like hours. Without an end in sight and completely exhausted from the constant pursuit and threat of danger over the past couple of days, the party finally stopped to rest.

They had no wood for a fire and in the rocky tunnels there were no other fuel sources, so the companions had to make do with the light from Tyrius’ staff to set up their bedrolls before enduring the cool dampness of the cave as they rested their weary limbs.

Each took a watch throughout the night while the others slept, but nothing eventful occurred in any of their shifts. It seemed as if they were alone in the vast underground cave system, each silently wondering whether they would ever find an end to the seemingly infinite network of tunnels.

When they had all finally rested and had a bite to eat from what remained of their supplies, they continued on their miserable journey through the dark.

They went on like this for what seemed like an eternity until they came to an area where the rough stone floor and walls had changed. They changed from a natural, rocky look into an obvious man-made texture that showed evidence of weathering on the floor from years of foot traffic and countless chisel marks on the walls and ceiling. Eventually the tunnel led them to an intersection that was unmistakably a mineshaft.

The ceiling and walls were supported by great timber beams that were spaced evenly in both directions and stretching as far as they could see into the darkness. The companions looked at each other with expressions of relief, overjoyed to have finally reached an area of the tunnels that showed signs of life after such a long, dark expanse of endless trekking through the uncharted caves.

“Now the question is, which way do we go?” said David, speaking aloud the question they had all been silently wondering themselves.

“Good question…” replied Tyrius, examining the passageways and clearly deep in thought.

David started to mindlessly rub his hands along the wall, feeling the carefully cut stone. He felt a warm breeze gently caress his neck and his eyes shot open.

“This way! We have to go this way!” said David, rubbing the chills from the back of his neck.

“What? How do you know?” asked Tyrius, confused how David had come to such a conclusion.

“I felt a warm breeze on the back of my neck, and it came from this direction” said David, pointing down the dark corridor.

“Are you sure? I didn’t feel anything” said Erin, the others each nodding in agreement.

“Yes, I’m positive!” said David. “Come on, let’s go!” he said, and he started down the dark tunnel in the direction of the warm breeze with the others following in pursuit.

It wasn’t long before