In Darkness I Will be There - 13
Thursday, July 29, 2010 (07:00:00)

Posted by TerishD

Sapphire and Cindy in -
A Dream of Meeting Friends
Story One: In Darkness I Will be There
Chapter Thirteen

...
The voice of the large man grunted out a reply. “Don’t you worry about me, Dearie.”

“I am worrying about you, Ellemon. I am worrying about you a lot.”

“You take care of that horse.”

“I DON’T HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF SAPPHIRE!” The young lady began to cry as she added, “He is right here. He is safe. I am worried about you, Ellemon.”


Yes, the fight is not a minor thing.


Sapphire and Cindy in -
A Dream of Meeting Friends
Story One: In Darkness I Will be There
Chapter Thirteen

Sapphire really wished that he could see as a number of sounds filled the cavern. Ellemon screamed out statements and exclamations in a manner indicating that he still tried to fight even as his situation became very desperate. The sound of water rushing reverberated in a manner that clearly stated that its great volume was moving, although how the magic horse could not say. He thought it strange however that he heard the addition of falling water directly in front of him. While he could sense that something huge rose up in the middle of the cavern, that was one thing Sapphire could not verify with only his hearing.

Cindy screamed out, “Ellemon! I am coming!”

The man yelled back, “There is no way that you can, Dearie!”

There was no strength in the young lady’s reply, “What?”

Sapphire hoped to provide information by saying, “I believe that the water level has dropped.”

Sounds in the water nearby told the magic horse that the young lady cautiously took steps forward. Other sounds then came that he suspected was her dropping to feel things with her hands. He suspected that she found his words to be true as she made a statement.

“We cannot have Ellemon fight alone, Sapphire.”

“I don’t know how we can get to him, Cindy.”

He heard the lady stand up as other voices could now be heard in the cavern, then she yelled, “Chordan, we need to help Ellemon!”

A voice not as strong as before returned, “I am doing fine.”

Chordan’s voice rang out, “Ellemon, how do you fare?”

The large man’s voice had an airy quality to it as he replied, “I am here fighting, so don’t gripe about paying me.”

“I don’t pay dead men, Ellemon.”

There was a pause, then the voice of the large man said, “You tell my mother that I was thinking of her.”

Chordan could be heard to utter a curse as Sapphire felt Cindy reach out to hold him, then the man spoke some words. “I hired a man, not some damn boy that needs his parent’s permission to do things.” When no response came, Chordan turned his attention to another. “Cindy, where are you?”

“Sapphire and I are in the stream from the house.”

“Okay. Stay there.”

“I will not stay here! Ellemon needs help!”

The voice of the large man grunted out a reply. “Don’t you worry about me, Dearie.”

“I am worrying about you, Ellemon. I am worrying about you a lot.”

“You take care of that horse.”

“I DON’T HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF SAPPHIRE!” The young lady began to cry as she added, “He is right here. He is safe. I am worried about you, Ellemon.”

Sapphire barely heard the slightly feminine voice of Tostoil say, “I am going down.”

The commotion in the cavern almost drowned out Chordan’s question, “Are you sure?”

“We need to know. I am not going to have Ellemon killed when I can possibly join him by simply going down a few feet.”

Cindy’s embrace upon the neck of Sapphire released as she whispered, “She’s right.”

The magic horse returned, “Cindy, it is not your place to fight.”

“Yes, it is, Sapphire. This is my land.”

“Then it is my place as well.”

The magic horse heard the lady suck in air as if to power her voice to challenge him, then he heard the sound of water as she dropped to a kneeling position. “Let me see just how far down it is Sapphire.”

It made him feel good that Cindy did not challenge his statement. While she would at times act very protective of him, in a desperate situation she would trust him to perform. Sapphire enjoyed her attention, but also felt that he had earned a level of mature respect. Considering the seriousness of the threat, it gave him some satisfaction that Cindy did not display any reservation about allowing him to do what he could.

The magic horse carefully stepped up worried about the young lady as he heard the distant voice of the dwarf ask, “Ellemon, just how big is that thing you are fighting? The water level seems to have dropped quite a bit.”

“ELLEMON, ANSWER!” Cindy yelled when no response came from the man.

The voice that returned had little volume, as if the man was very tired. “This thing is big. It really does not attack as much as simply wear you down.”

Cindy returned, “We are coming, Ellemon!”

Sapphire then heard two splashes. One sounded close, which he assumed to have been Cindy. The other sounded a distance away, and he assumed that one to have been the dwarf. The magic horse felt that he had support for the latter assumption when Tostiol’s voice gave some information.

“The water level is about twelve feet down, although the water is still quite deep.”

That was all Sapphire felt that he needed to hear. He moved to up to assure the edge of the stream bed. He then took a number of steps back before dashing forward. The jump was not for height, but simply to assure that he cleared the edges of any rocks along the sides of the depression. The magic horse felt like smiling when he heard the sound of his body entering water.

Again he felt something about his feet. Instead of trying to free himself, Sapphire however had his hooves work to tear into it. As before, what he felt seemed to be like matted algae. As he tried to disrupt the substance, he found himself agreeing with what Ellemon said. The monster did not so much attack, as simply cause the ones fighting to tire themselves out. The magic horse found itself believing that the great creature had simply rested in this cavern while passively feeding upon whatever fell into it. Feeling fatigue again coming upon him, Sapphire started a series of odd hops.

The voice of Cindy came from nearby. “What are you doing, Sapphire?”

“We need to get to the center and attack the main stalk.”

“It is hard moving Sapphire.”

“Which is why I am doing what I am doing.”

He heard some splashes as if the lady tried to swim as she said, “Take me with you.”

A hand grabbed his saddle. He waited for her to find a position next to him. While neither tended to swim, they had done so over the years. Their knowledge of the other allowed them to easily find a position together. With Cindy saying that she was secure, Sapphire again started his odd movement.

The substance around his feet became to feel more like the thick material into which he sunk before. Telling Cindy, she moved a hand to grab the bridle upon his head, then propelled herself in front of him. He heard a splash, then the voice of the young lady rang out.

“It is right here, Sapphire!” A few more splashes, then she said, “There is something more substantial here.”

The voice of Tostoil asked, “What are you doing, Cindy?”

“Sapphire got me close to the center. I am simply sending my sword forward in thrusts.”

While the tones sounded like Ellemon tried to yell, they still came very soft. “Keep doing it, Dearie. I feel it shaking up here.”

The voice of Chordan now rang out, “Ellemon, tell me if this gets too close!”

Sapphire did not know what weapon was used, but a loud metallic thud sounded in the cavern. While splashes still came from Cindy, the water churned as if something large altered its position. The sound of a number of men attempting to work in unison in the dark could be heard, although the voice of Tostoil could be heard closer and speaking louder.

“Do that again!”

“Give us time,” Chordan answered.

Still only feeling only a gooey mess around him, Sapphire tried a few more hops. He felt as if some energy returned to him as a joy in encountering something dense came over him. He began kicking with his rear legs to power his front hooves into whatever it was Cindy worked to stick her sword into.

A strange stretched-out expression came from Tostoil that the magic horse could only assume meant she also felt something substantial now being met by her attacks. The metal thud also rang out. In response to the various attacks, whatever was before him moved. While the sound of the water indicated that whatever acted was very big, Sapphire kept making his attack. Every kick of his legs tired him, but he focused on making each action determined to best this monster just as he had overcome each threat a year before.

The sounds of Cindy splashing suddenly ceased as Sapphire felt different commotion in the water. He called out to the young lady, and she answered by having a hand reach for his face. He felt his neck stretched as fingers caught in his bridle before a massive surge of water propelled them away from their position.

Sapphire did not know if they had been attacked. He did not feel hurt, although the only indication of pain came from his over exerted muscles. Suddenly coming stopped due to the wall of the chamber did cause some feelings, but the magic horse found himself concerned for the body that pressed up against him.

“Are you all right, Cindy?”

He felt joy as arms wrapped about his neck, although what the lady said surprised him. “Sapphire, we can see.”

It was still dark in the room, but beams of light from openings in the ceiling did cause him to wince. While he could gain a sense of his surroundings, most of the room was still quite dark. Torches illuminated one opening in the cavern wall. From their light he could see a number of men looking down into the water. One threw out a torch. Sapphire considered that dumb act, as the water would put out the fire. It however went out before the sound of it striking the liquid, and that caused him to accept the words that were shouted.

“Those of you below, look out! Something still lives!”


Threats after threats, but the next installment finishes this story.