My World of Hell, part six

Great, a hill giant.

Teela stayed behind me. As if that would protect her from a swing from this big boy."You've fought these before, yes?"

"Uh, sure," I said. "All the time."

The few soldiers in front of me stepped to the side and let the hill giant pass. He stepped forward. Each step made the floor moved. The soldiers grinned amongst themselves as the giant stopped in front of me. He breathed hard, hard enough to mess up my hair. And yet, his breath didn't stink. It looked as if he hadn't had a bath in months, but he didn't stink.

The giant brought his club high. I started to move back. Maybe from the narrow hall behind us I could take him, but here I was pretty much screwed.

Then he did the last thing I expected. He winked at me.

"Do I know you?" I asked rhetorically.

He spoke. His voice made Barry White sound like Britney Spears. What he said wasn't in common, but it was in a language I knew a little something about. I lowered my sword.

"Why does he know elvish?" Teela asked.

The giant turned slowly and faced the soldiers. "Uh oh," one of them muttered, and it was the last thing he said.

The hill giant crushed the man's skull. His kicked another soldier, sending the man into the wall. I heard the soldier's spine crack, and then he crashed to the floor.

Another soldier came up behind the giant and tried to slash at the ankle. I raced forward and blocked it with my own sword. I whipped my sword around, but I failed to disarm him. I dropped and swept him. His feet went over his head and he landed on his head. I heard a crunch when he hit. He probably wouldn't walk again. To be sure, I stuck him in the neck with my sword.

When I turned, the hill giant had the last soldier in hand. He rammed his head into the ceiling at full speed, and then dropped his broken body on the floor with the rest of the busted soldiers.

"Nice work," I said. "Can I assume you are not who you appear to be?"

The giant faced me. Teela's eyes, widened as the hill giant shrank until he was about five feet tall. My eyes widened when I saw that he was now a she.

"Indeed," she said. The hill giant was now an elf. Judging by the bright red hair she must have been a wood elf. She was kinda cute, too. Her mangy clothes had been replaced with simple woodsman's clothes (or woodswoman's, I suppose). Her club had become a staff.

"Neat trick," I said. "I'm John Carter. This is Teela."

"Greetings to you," she said. "I am Kella." She looked over my shoulder and down the hall that led to the ettin's lair. "I suggest we leave now before anyone wonders where these men have gone."

She gestured for us to follow her. She went straight to a section of wall where a map of the wild coast rested. She moved it aside and pushed against the wall. It opened as easily as any wooden door.

"Secret doors," I said. "I love these things."

Teela squeezed my hand and smiled at me. I didn't know that she was holding it until then. I felt good. For a moment I had forgotten that I had been tortured for God knows how long. I was this close to freedom, and there's no feeling like that.

Kella said nothing as we went down the hall. Now that I got a closer look at her, I could see that her ears were a little more rounded than most elves. That and her hips were fuller. She might have been a half elf, but I thought it impolite to ask.

The corridor turned a few times before we came to another door. It opened into another room that connected with the main hall that led out of here. From here, I actually knew where to go.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Everyone was ordered to the surface," Kella said. "Something about needing more scouting parties. Many scouts have not returned. Hedrack believes someone is planning an invasion."

"Yeah?" I said. "I hope so." For a moment, I thought of telling them about Thrommel and his plans to return with reinforcements. It occurred to me that I didn't know these two and what their game was. I remember this Outer Limits episode where they fooled this soldier into revealing secret battle plans. I decided to keep my trap shut. All that really mattered now was getting out of here.

"Hedrack was angry about an escaped prisoner," Teela said. "Some prince."

"Prince Thrommel," Kella said. "Yes, I could not find him." She looked at me. "You freed him, didn't you?"

I nodded. "My friends and I did."

"I'm sorry about your friends," Kella said.

"What happened to them?" I asked.

"Hedrack sent them to the nodes," Teela said. "He bragged about it."

"The nodes?"

"They are imitations of the elemental planes," Kella said. "Hedrack has been summoning creatures from the elemental planes and placing them in the nodes. He is building an army, though for what purpose I do not know."

We reached the stairs that led to the next level. "Same reason as any army. Kill, pillage, acquire power--all that stuff."

"I do not think we can get by Hedrack's troops on the surface," Kella said.

"We're not going that way," I said. "Follow me."

I remembered the path as if it were yesterday. I managed to avoid any rooms that might have held monsters as we went to the secret passage that led away from the temple. It was basically a very narrow passage that opened up very close to the city of Nulb. I told them about it.

"I never knew of it," Kella said.

"Most didn't," I said. "For good reason. You don't just tell people about secret passages in and out of your stronghold. Anyway, once there you're on your own."

"What?" Teela said. "Where are you going?"

"Back," I said. "I'm going to these nodes."

"What?" Kella grasped my arm. "You cannot go there. There are terrible creatures there, and the nodes themselves can kill you."

"No choice," I said. "My friends are there. I have to get them."

"I doubt they are still alive," Kella said.

"You don't know them," I said. "I have to try. I'd hate myself if I didn't."

We reached the trap door that led to the secret chamber. It was where we fought a wizard and his half-orc companion. It was also where we found the Orb of Golden Death, aka the skull.

We rounded the corner and went down the passage. It was a few hundred feet to a room where the exit tunnel was.

"Kella, tell me everything you know about the nodes," I said.

"I know little," she said. "I only know that when you face the main alter, the passages to the left lead to the nodes. Those to the right lead to the elemental planes." She shivered. "If you go there, you are doomed."

"I'll have to be careful then."

"But you can't go," Teela said. "Hedrack said that when he put your friends there they would be trapped."

"There has to be a way out," I said. "Otherwise, how would Hedrack gather his armies?" I patted the portable hole in my pocket. "I think this golden skull may provide an answer to that."

"He was very happy to get it," Teela said. "I hope for your sake that is true."

We reached the end of the tunnel. The end of the tunnel was really a pivoting door made to look like the rest of the surrounding rock. I pushed on it and it opened easily.

"We're almost there," I said. I entered the natural cave. It seemed to be well lit for some reason. I watched Kella and Teela enter. They both looked around curiously.

"What a strange cave," Kella said. "Which way?"

I pointed to the other tunnel. "Follow this until--" I looked at the tunnel. It had a tile floor and formica walls. The ceiling was also covered in tile. Florescent lights lit the entire length of the hall.

"What the hell?" The "cave" was a tiled entry way to some large building. There was a desk where a security guard sat. Normally, he would greet visitors, but right now he stood in front of the desk. He had his hand on what looked like a night stick. Two large plate glass windows covered one wall. I could easily see the parking lot. There were only a few cars there. Stone steps led down to a sidewalk and a perfectly green lawn. Two police cars were parked on the lawn, their overheads blazed dazzling lights. Four police officers came up the stairs to the double glass doors. They had their hands on their weapons.

"What is wrong?" Kella asked.

"Oh God," I muttered. Teela and Kella were dressed in white hospital gowns. Their hair looked as if it hadn't been combed in days. They each had a dazed look in their eyes. They looked like they belonged in an asylum, and from the looks of it that's where we were.

"We are free, yes?" Teela asked.

I didn't know how to answer.