My World of Hell, part five

The young woman unlocked the shackles. They fell away and I stood. It felt good to stretch my back. The healing potions had removed all pain and discomfort. I felt like I had a full belly and awoken from a good night sleep. My clothes were torn and bloodied, but every other part of me was in the best of health.

"I took this," she said. She handed me a small piece of cloth folded over several times. "He seemed to think it was important."

I nodded. I set it on the floor and opened it. The round cloth stretched to about six feet in diameter. The magic went into affect instantly. The cloth became a hole, and in the hole was our gear. I dug through it. Everything was there. All of our gear, even the treasure we found. He kept it all in there. Well, almost everything.

"It's not here," I said.

"What?"

"The skull," I said, "and my journal. We have to find them."

"They may be in his quarters," she said. A look of horror crossed her face. "I can't go there. I can't--"

"What's you're name?"

She swallowed hard enough that I could hear it. "Teela."

"Teela," I said. "I won't let anyone hurt you. Understand? First order of business is to get you out of here. Then I have to find my friends." I pulled out my chain mail. "Here, help me."

I showed her what to do. Getting armor on by yourself is no easy task. You almost always need help. It was a bit loose on me. I wondered how much weight I had lost over...I had no idea how long I had been here. All I knew was that I was free and I wasn't going back. This was my only chance and I'd be a fool to not take it.

I pulled out my long sword. It felt light in my hand. Teela stepped back as I hefted it.

"How did you get away?" I asked.

"Something was happening on the upper levels," she said. "I don't know what, but it was enough to anger Hedrack. He left me and--"

"No," I said. "How did you escape his magic?"

"He has used his magic on me several times," she said. "It only lasts so long, and the length of time is different each time he uses it. I used to try to escape or to fight him when it wore off. This time I pretended it was still working."

"How long?" I asked, folding up the portable hole and putting it away.

"Four days now," she said. "I let him take me when he wished. I told him I loved him even as he beat me...." She looked on the verge of crying. "I would rather die than go back to him."

"You're not dying today," I said. "You're going to die when you're old and surrounded by great grandchildren." I went to the door. It was closed, but unlocked. "The rest of these guys, on the other hand...."

"There are too many," she said. "Even though many have gone with Hedrack, you can't take all of them on."

"We'll see."

I opened the door to my cell. It opened into a room full of crates and barrels. I realized the other side of the door looked like a stone wall. The small window in the door wasn't visible from the other side either. It must have been a magical illusion or something. Regardless, I didn't have time to think about it.

I took a quick look around. No one was present. "Where is everyone?"

"They went above," Teela said. "Something is going on up there."

"Hopefully it's Thrommel and his crew." There was one door in the room. "What's on the other side."

"Nothing right now," she said. "Normally there is an ettin present, but it went to the surface with the others."

"An ettin? What the hells is that?"

"A two-headed giant."

I opened the door a crack and peaked through. The room was huge and lit by torches, but it seemed empty. I opened it further and stepped into the room, my sword ready. A gigantic pile of rotting rags lay against one wall. It was likely the ettin's bed. I stepped further into the room. Teela stayed behind me.

"They didn't leave guards," I said.

"Hedrack assumed you wouldn't leave," Teela said. "He said he had broken you." She winced at my expression. "Looks like he was wrong."

I said nothing. She was relying on me to get her out of there alive. I didn't want to tell her that Hedrack had broken me.

"Which way to his quarters?"

She shook her head. "I can't--"

"You said he went to the surface, right?" She nodded. "So he's not here."

"Can we not just leave?"

"I have to get the golden skull," I said. "I can't leave it with Hedrack." I took her hand in mine. She clutched my hand tightly. "Teela, I'll get you out of here, I promise. But you have to show me his quarters before he gets back."

She stared at me for a moment before nodding grimly. "This way." Still clutching hand she led me across the room. We went down a hall leading out of the room. A short way down the hall was a door that stood open. This led to a hall that eventually opened into a large rectangular room.

I smiled. "Jack pot."

Maps covered the walls. One showed Hommlet, another showed Nulb. There were also maps of the surrounding wilderness and the Kron Hills. There was even one of Verbobonc. On the table rested several books. One of them was clearly recognizable.

"My journal," I said. I pulled out the portable hole and tossed it on to the floor. The dimensional pocket opened up immediately. I pulled maps off the wall and tossed them into the hole. I grabbed my journal as well as every other book on the table (there maybe a dozen or so).

"Are his quarters that way?" I asked, pointing at the one other door in the room.

"Yes," she said. She pushed it open. "We must hurry."

I grabbed the edge of the hole and lifted it. The hole became a circular cloth again. I folded it as I followed her through the door and down the hall to another door that was still open. Beyond was the most impressive bedroom I had seen.

Tapestries covered every wall, all with symbols of squares, triangles, circles, and eight pointed stars. Bookshelves lined one wall, with another wall containing two braziers that radiated heat. A bed rest against another wall and next to that a desk and a wardrobe. There was a wealth of beautiful furniture and jewelry resting on stands. I could have spent hours going through everything, but I didn't have that kind of time.

"If I were a golden skull," I said, "where would I be?"

"He always keeps the desk locked," Teela said. She went to a shelf and removed a book. She opened the book and reached into it. A compartment had been cut away from the pages. A key rested in the hidden compartment.

I took the key from her and opened the locked drawer. One drawer contained papers of various kinds. I laid out the portable hole and tossed the papers into it. Never can tell what may or may not be useful. The next drawer contained a pile of blank parchment. Underneath it, rested the skull. I grabbed it without thinking.

Thoughts flooded my mind. I saw images of debauchery and torture. I saw scenes of women being raped through the eyes of the rapists. The images stopped as suddenly as they began. I felt a curious sensation, as if I had just discovered something I didn't know a moment before. It took me a few seconds to realize that this realization was not my own.

You are not him. The skull's thoughts slid through my mind like an oil slick. I thought I would be sick.

"What is wrong?" Teela asked, but I barely heard her.

You are his toy, the skull said. At least, you were.

"I am my own man," I said.

"Of course you are," Teela said. "Can't we discuss this outside."

Indeed, the skull said. And with my help, he can be your slave.

Hedrack could be mine. I could do to him what he did to me, and far worse. The skull showed me what it could do. Ideas filled my mind of how to torture him, of what I could do to him. The skull showed me things I would never have--

Teela put her hand on my shoulder. "What is it?"

I snapped back into the real world. I tossed the skull into the portable hole and grabbed the edge. "Let's go."

I folded it as we left the room. If we could find the main hall I could get us up to the next level. I'd show her the way out through the secret passage. Then I'd return and find my friends. All of this assumed we wouldn't run into anyone along the way.

We entered the map room and continued on. Hedrack must have really had faith in me being broken, and with his mistress remaining loyal. As we left the map room and entered the larger room, I thought we might actually survive this ordeal.

That's when all my plans fell apart.

Five humans stood there. Under their black, temple robes they wore chainmail. They wielded the weapon of choice among NPCs everywhere--a long sword. Humans I can deal with. It was what was behind them that worried me.

It looked mostly like a human--a human that was over ten feet tall and looked like Quasi Modo's ugly brother. It stared at me, hefting a club thicker than most telephone poles and almost as long. Drool dribbled down its chin. This was, as I realized later, a hill giant. It had a face not even a mother could love.

One human stepped forward. "Going somewhere."

Just great.