Sticks and Stones

[00:00:01] Artifacts of the Arcane, by Jake Kerr Season 1, The Staff of Light Episode 6, Sticks and Stones

[00:00:17] Mr. Ali climbed ahead of me, the occasional squeak of his leather armor leading my way, as his soft leather shoes made no sound.

[00:00:27] The rungs were cold and hard, but not unbearable to climb.

[00:00:32] I was wearing the outfit I normally wore to the theater on Saturdays.

[00:00:36] Khaki pants and a dress shirt.

[00:00:39] While not convenient for adventuring, it had the benefit of including leather shoes and a leather belt, both which helped in the climb.

[00:00:47] The shoes protected my feet from the iron rungs, while I tucked the cane into the belt.

[00:00:53] The only annoyance was that I had to stop often to tug on the belt, as the staff would slowly slip down.

[00:01:01] The worst part was that we had to climb in utter darkness, as the cane's light extinguished the moment I took my hands off it.

[00:01:09] I see a light!

[00:01:11] Mr. Ali exclaimed.

[00:01:13] I looked up and saw a slight glow far above.

[00:01:17] We must be careful.

[00:01:18] I am sure the river was not in a good mood when it decided where to leave us.

[00:01:23] I felt differently.

[00:01:24] As I wrenched the staff from the river, I felt that the river was as happy to have me gone as I was to leave.

[00:01:31] It was a battle to a draw.

[00:01:33] At least it felt like a battle to a draw.

[00:01:35] And I didn't think the river had any conscious say on where we were deposited, other than a spot where we wouldn't be able to get back easily.

[00:01:43] The dull light above slowly grew stronger, pushing back the frightening darkness.

[00:01:49] The rungs came up to a ledge, and as Mr. Ali looked over the lip, he described what he saw.

[00:01:56] It's the end of a mineshaft.

[00:01:58] There are rail tracks and electric lighting.

[00:02:00] He pulled himself up and then turned and pulled me up with ease.

[00:02:04] The moment I was on my feet, Mr. Ali turned to the other direction and dropped into a crouched position.

[00:02:10] He looked ready to fight.

[00:02:13] We must be careful, he whispered.

[00:02:16] Our enemies could be anywhere.

[00:02:18] I looked around and saw nothing but shadows.

[00:02:22] But they weren't the shadows that attacked my grandfather and me.

[00:02:26] Just the darkness hidden from the electric lights.

[00:02:30] I pulled out the staff and held it up.

[00:02:33] Light sprung from the end and lit up the whole corridor.

[00:02:36] It was a small tunnel hewn from solid rock.

[00:02:40] We were at the end of a rail line that led up the tunnel.

[00:02:43] It disappeared in a curve that started about 25 yards away.

[00:02:47] The corridor echoed with the clanging sound of a generator in the distance.

[00:02:52] I turned to see if anything might have followed us, and where there was once a ledge with a ladder leading down was now a solid wall of rock.

[00:03:01] I tested it with the staff, but all it did was make a small tap.

[00:03:06] Mr. Ali!

[00:03:07] He turned and nodded.

[00:03:09] He didn't seem surprised.

[00:03:11] Onward then, I will lead.

[00:03:14] I fell into step a few paces behind Mr. Ali.

[00:03:17] I couldn't see his face, but he was constantly murmuring and wringing his hands.

[00:03:22] Every once in a while, he would stop and then wave a hand to the left or right.

[00:03:26] It all seemed very odd to me.

[00:03:28] We had traveled around the first turn when Mr. Ali stopped and turned to me.

[00:03:34] There is magic here, so we must be careful.

[00:03:38] He waved his arms around the tunnel.

[00:03:40] I don't believe it to be a threat.

[00:03:42] Still, we don't know why the river chose this destination, so we should be careful.

[00:03:48] The exit is ahead, and I would like us to be prepared for anything.

[00:03:52] He continued forward.

[00:03:54] His eyes glinted in the light of the cane.

[00:03:57] He appeared to rarely blink as he continuously surveyed the tunnel around us.

[00:04:02] As we had moved further along our journey,

[00:04:05] the jovial Mr. Ali receded further and further back

[00:04:09] as the warrior Mr. Ali came to the fore.

[00:04:12] We passed the generator that powered the lights

[00:04:15] and approached the entrance to the mine.

[00:04:17] A bright light shone,

[00:04:19] and I realized that I had lost all sense of time on the river.

[00:04:24] At least now, I knew it was daytime.

[00:04:27] We were near the entrance when Mr. Ali held out his hand.

[00:04:31] I stopped as Mr. Ali turned around

[00:04:34] and held a finger to his lips.

[00:04:36] He pointed to me and held up his palm.

[00:04:39] Mr. Ali emerged from the mine and slowly proceeded forward,

[00:04:43] stopping every so often to crouch down and squint into the distance.

[00:04:49] The mine faced flatlands that extended to the horizon.

[00:04:54] I couldn't see a living thing.

[00:04:56] As he proceeded forward, I tried to look for danger outside the mine.

[00:05:00] The landscape was completely alien to me,

[00:05:03] and I wondered if, like John Carter,

[00:05:05] we had perhaps been transported to Mars.

[00:05:08] The ground was arid, with large stones protruding from the dirt in random spots.

[00:05:14] The vegetation was sparse and looked half dead.

[00:05:17] It was also hot.

[00:05:19] The temperature had risen so gradually as we traveled along the mine

[00:05:23] that I hadn't noticed the scorching heat until it was overpowering.

[00:05:27] The good news was that we were on a hill,

[00:05:29] which made sense since we were in a mine.

[00:05:32] This presented us with a very good view moving forward.

[00:05:36] It would be tough to surprise us,

[00:05:38] and I noted happily it was bright enough that I didn't think I would have to worry

[00:05:42] about being surprised by shadows.

[00:05:44] There was a wide path cleared in the dirt that led downward.

[00:05:48] It avoided some of the steep drops that marked the hill, but was still uneven.

[00:05:53] Mr. Ali was on the path standing tall, staring at the planes ahead of us.

[00:05:59] I noticed him nod his head, and then he turned and gave me the all clear.

[00:06:03] I had taken about five steps out of the cave

[00:06:06] when I saw a dark shape fly over my head toward Mr. Ali.

[00:06:10] To my horror, Mr. Ali fell in a heap.

[00:06:14] Two more shapes flew toward him, but they clattered against the ground nearby.

[00:06:19] Mr. Ali slowly turned, and I heard him yell,

[00:06:22] Tommy, run back to the mine.

[00:06:24] When I felt an excruciating pain in my right hip,

[00:06:28] my leg gave out and I dropped the staff as I braced for the fall.

[00:06:32] The attack seemed to increase in intensity the moment the staff fell out of my hand.

[00:06:37] I watched as more projectiles shot toward Mr. Ali,

[00:06:41] who was now rolling around and avoiding them with a feline grace.

[00:06:44] A blow hit me in the thigh.

[00:06:47] Scrambling to my knees, a cloud of dust exploded next to me,

[00:06:51] leaving a track in the dirt.

[00:06:53] It was from a rock.

[00:06:55] A rock?

[00:06:56] Who attacks someone with rocks?

[00:06:59] I turned to crawl behind a boulder for cover when I noticed the staff.

[00:07:02] I grabbed it with no other thought in my mind than I needed it.

[00:07:05] I wasn't pulling it to safety.

[00:07:07] I wasn't keeping it from an attacker.

[00:07:09] I clung to it like I clung to my grandfather's sleeve, and like my grandfather, the staff led the way.

[00:07:15] I stood tall and held up the staff.

[00:07:18] From somewhere behind me, I heard Mr. Ali scream,

[00:07:22] No!

[00:07:24] Another rock hit me, this time glancing off my foot, but I barely felt it as I looked up at our attackers.

[00:07:30] A projectile flew toward me, and I swung up with the staff.

[00:07:34] There was a thunk, and the stone flew off into the distance.

[00:07:39] Two more rocks whistled toward me, and with a spin I knocked them to the ground.

[00:07:44] Thud.

[00:07:45] Thud.

[00:07:46] It was me, but it wasn't me hitting the rocks.

[00:07:49] I swung with the skill of Ted Williams hitting baseballs, but the staff was assisting me in some way.

[00:07:55] The rocks were flying so fast that the staff moved in my hands like a blur.

[00:08:00] Flee, Tommy!

[00:08:02] Mr. Ali yelled out.

[00:08:03] I looked up and saw a path to the top of the hill above the entrance to the mine.

[00:08:08] I continued to effortlessly knock away stones as I considered Mr. Ali's words, and then disregarded them.

[00:08:15] No.

[00:08:15] I wouldn't flee.

[00:08:17] The world was stripping away everyone from my life, while I sat by and did nothing.

[00:08:23] My parents.

[00:08:24] My grandfather.

[00:08:26] Even Mr. Ali, who I had just met, was now in danger.

[00:08:30] I strode toward the path.

[00:08:32] I scrambled up the hill, barely paying attention to the rocks, as I warded them off with a staff in one hand.

[00:08:40] At the top was a large outcropping of stone directly over the mine entrance.

[00:08:45] It was the perfect spot for an ambush, and standing behind it were three figures made of rocks and sticks.

[00:08:52] They had arms and legs, but otherwise had little semblance to a human.

[00:08:57] I watched as one of them grabbed a rock with a hand made of broken branches.

[00:09:02] It twirled, and the rock flew at me.

[00:09:05] I swung the staff, and the rock flew at one of the other figures, hitting it square in what looked like a chest.

[00:09:11] It exploded into a cloud of dust.

[00:09:14] The other two figures paused as they turned toward me.

[00:09:17] They were alien and horrific looking.

[00:09:20] Where their eyes would be were dark holes between intertwined sticks.

[00:09:24] Rocks filled gaps between the tree limbs and sapling trunks that made up the body.

[00:09:29] And it all came together in a human-like shape.

[00:09:32] However horrifying they looked, I wasn't afraid.

[00:09:35] I was hot and angry, and more than anything, ready to finally no longer live a life alone in a secluded townhouse or a private school.

[00:09:44] I was Errol Flynn.

[00:09:46] I was the bearer of the staff.

[00:09:48] I twirled it in my hand and walked toward them.

[00:09:51] I knocked away a stone and swung the staff at the second figure.

[00:09:55] And it also exploded into dust as the end of the staff pounded into its side.

[00:10:00] The third figure got off a throw, but I was too close.

[00:10:04] And while I didn't knock it away, it glanced off my side to little effect.

[00:10:09] Shortly afterward, it was also little more than a pile of sticks and rocks.

[00:10:14] I looked over the promontory, but couldn't see Mr. Ali.

[00:10:17] Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

[00:10:20] And there he was, standing behind me.

[00:10:22] His face was covered in blood.

[00:10:24] And he was bleeding from various other locations where the rocks had hit him.

[00:10:29] In his right hand, he held a knife.

[00:10:31] The hilt was colorful and decorated with gems.

[00:10:34] But the blade was all business.

[00:10:37] Curved and sharp and shiny from many sharpenings.

[00:10:41] Well done, Tommy.

[00:10:42] Your facility with the staff is unexpected.

[00:10:45] He looked at the heap of sticks and rocks next to us.

[00:10:48] I think I understand.

[00:10:50] He leaned down and examined it more closely.

[00:10:53] As he held up and peered at a stick, I noticed that one of the boulders near the edge of the outcropping had indentations all over it.

[00:11:01] It looks like someone had taken an ice cream scooper and had pulled out hand-sized scoops of rock.

[00:11:08] Mr. Ali stood up and kicked the heap, sending dirt and twigs flying.

[00:11:12] It is as I expected.

[00:11:14] They were golems created out of the material around here.

[00:11:18] He waved his arms around the clearing.

[00:11:20] I'm guessing that all of the known exits from the river have similar golems guarding them.

[00:11:26] Golems.

[00:11:27] It was a creature I was only vaguely familiar with.

[00:11:31] Yes, magical animations.

[00:11:33] They are simple-minded, but can be mighty opponents if made of the right material.

[00:11:38] Luckily, these were made of sticks, dirt, and rocks.

[00:11:42] He nudged the pile with his foot.

[00:11:44] I nodded.

[00:11:46] At least we are safe now.

[00:11:48] I was disappointed that Mr. Ali didn't say anything about the battle.

[00:11:52] I had beaten the golems and was hoping for more acknowledgement than,

[00:11:57] well done.

[00:11:58] Mr. Ali walked over to the ledge and looked out to the horizon.

[00:12:03] Nothing but harsh sun, dry rocky plains, and half-dead vegetation as far as the eye could see.

[00:12:10] I'm afraid not, Tommy.

[00:12:12] While the golems did an admirable job for their master in hurting us, their primary role was to raise the alarm.

[00:12:19] Right now, I'm sure that whoever is after us knows exactly where we are and is preparing to send something a lot more dangerous than a pile of sticks.

[00:12:28] Mr. Ali limped away from the outcropping, and as I went to follow him, I realized I was injured more than I had thought.

[00:12:36] My hip hurt badly, and I had to limp too.

[00:12:39] I found it depressing that a stupid creature made of sticks, doing nothing more than throwing stones, had nearly defeated the duo of a mighty magician like Mr. Ali and me, the archmage.

[00:12:51] Defeating them didn't seem quite so special anymore.

[00:12:54] I winced, and Mr. Ali twirled to look at me, alarm on his face.

[00:12:59] You are hurt.

[00:13:01] He shook his head.

[00:13:02] I'm afraid we are in very poor circumstances.

[00:13:05] We are injured.

[00:13:06] We don't know where we are, and we have no way to get to either safety or healing.

[00:13:11] Mr. Ali sheathed his knife and looked at me.

[00:13:14] Do you have any ideas?

[00:13:16] In other circumstances I would have been honored at Mr. Ali asking me for assistance.

[00:13:21] But I ignored him and stared at the top of the hill.

[00:13:24] A sliver of smoke rose up in the distance.

[00:13:27] The End

[00:13:27] The End

[00:13:28] Thank you.