Hello Readers!

For the next few months, I’ll be showcasing stories from my Fantasy Adventure Series, “The Freelance Hunters,” in this space on Sundays. The Freelance Hunters are three adventurers making a living taking the jobs honest heroes won’t touch, and smart mercenaries avoid. The first collection of their exploits, Spells and Delivery, will be coming out in print and ebook in Spring of 2024.
Blocked! was originally published in Bards and Sages Quarterly in April, 2013.

Blocked!

Joachim Verne strained under the weight of the heavy stone block. His massive six-foot-six frame tensed, his boots slid back along the dusty floor and he grunted as the grind of stone on stone reverberated through the passage. It was the first time in millennia that it had done so. The block was as big as he was, but it was a bit closer to chalked spot in the center of the room.

“Any progress on the translations, Magus?” He took a break and wiped the sweat from his brow. He eyed the petite woman up and down. She was just over half his height, which made her average for her people. Glory looked up from the corner where she huddled with her manuscripts under a hovering ball of dim light.

“A bit. This ancient writing is a bit of a bugbear, but we were right about this chamber being a test. Although I still say that the mechanisms have worn down, the basic function should still be intact, if Bingo’s assessment was correct.”

“It is!” Called a high, piping voice from out of sight down the tunnels. Their lookout and trap-finder was watching the stairs. As far as they could tell, the Goblin tribe squatting closer to the surface hadn’t followed them down this far. They regarded the lower portions of the temple as either cursed or sacred. It hadn’t been clear which, but for the moment they were past pursuit. Getting back to the surface might prove to be a problem, however.

“So what can you tell me?” Joachim asked, taking a breath. Hidden below the earth, the chamber had resisted the flow of time, but the intricate carvings meant nothing to the warrior.  All he knew was that a set of giant stone blocks rested on the floor and that he could move them. He left the rest to his cohorts.

“I think I’ve figured out the puzzle. This is a test of strength, and I think that word is ‘cunning,’ but it was some kind of religious festival for a god unknown in the modern era. This could be huge. We could crack the mystery of all the ancient ruins that dot Elanterra! We could be heroes! I could get tenure!” Her normally calm, restrained tones practically quivered with excitement. Wizards. The former sellsword set his shoulder back against the block and began again. It must have been expertly cut to slide as it did against the stone floor.

“If that’s the case,” he grunted. “Why am I doing the pushing?”

She giggled. “Because you’re the big strong human, right? There’s still some lingering magic here. I hesitate to move the blocks by will. That, I suspect, would be cheating.”

“Of course.” He gave the stone block another shove.

“It says here that those worthy would be brought into the sanctum of the holy idol, the ideal form, the great one! We might even find an inscribed name! Do you realize what this means?”

“Not really, but I hope it’s not poison gas.” He gave a final push, and there was the faint click of a pressure plate. He tensed, waiting to be ‘brought into the presence of god’ through violent means, but the chug of ancient counterweights merely opened a hidden door in the far wall. Glory, excited as a schoolgirl, dashed through the opening. Choking dust filled the room, but it was harmless. Joachim waited for it to clear until he heard his partner scream.

“Glory!” Joachim called after her and dived into the inner chamber. He found her sitting on the floor, breathing and uninjured, but looking up in horror at the altar at the center of the room.

“This? This is the pure form the ancients idolized? I can’t publish with this! I’ll be a laughingstock!” Joachim looked up at the idol and laughed. Upon the altar was the perfect form of a stone cube.

The Mountain’s Shadow is now available from Amazon and Smashwords!