Arthen: The Man of the East -- Chapter 13

 

13

 

The Truth Awaits

 

“You must defeat the Tallach deep within this mountain.”

Squaz recalled from his readings that a Tallach was the gateway to the Underworld’s Lair.  He didn’t quite understand how to defeat one.  In the readings a Tallach was tall as a two-story building.  It had three claws on each hand.  Its face had a snout with two sharp teeth on the top and bottom.  He gulped anxiously on seeing this limited ancient beast.

The thing that stood out for Squaz was how did the Seers of Five knew about the fate of Sammatha.  His train of thought was how to save his mother from the depths of hell.  He also recalled that when a living being enters the gateway of hell that person must dive into the pool of souls.  In his turquoise crystal around his neck already had five souls.  He needed to combine his crystal with his long sword.

The engravements would make his blade be able to cut the thick shell of the Tallach.  It protected the head of the Tallach.  Its legs have bones for protection.  Pounding the spot where its head peeks out would be a challenge.  Something else stood out in his memory of the Tallach was lightest day would curl up.

The lightest day would curl up sound more like a riddle to Squaz.  The Seers of Five awarded him with a specialty armor.  It would allow fire protection.  They handed him a soul gemstone.  It was violet of color.  It was the size of his palm.  The Seers of Five recited that it would speak on how to use it when it’s ready.

Squaz could feel the trembling from the Tallach.  A fountain of fire breath came up.  He gripped on his shield and sword.  He would swing it against the claws of the beast.  It barely cut it.

He aimed his sword up into the sky to summon lightning.  It curled up in defeat.  Then Squaz pointed at the Tallach.  Lightning struck the beast and lit it on fire.  Then from the defeated beast there was an old man.  He was in the fetal position.  He couldn’t speak yet.

His hands were bound by magical rope.  Squaz couldn’t cut through them.  It needed to be burnt by sticking his hands in a magical lava lagoon.  So Squaz guided the mysterious old man to a lava lagoon.  He had to overcome his fear and he stepped into it.  He extended his arm for the old man to follow.  The ropes dissolved from his wrists.

The old man spewed up some grubs of slugs.  He thanked Squaz for freeing him from that entrapment.  He directed Squaz to the double steel doors.  He presses them on then he shoves them open.

“Go on inside and search for your mother.”

Squaz shook the hands of the Tallach, the personal gateway keeper.  He kept his sword by his side.  This vacuum kept the oxygen to a minimum.  The pitch darkness was zero visibility.  Then he noticed a lantern.  It sparked flames out of it.

He shook the lantern for it to spit flames out of it.  The darkness became a little lighter from the spitting of flames from the magical light.  Squaz didn’t argue about the magical light.  He kept flickering the flames.  Then the magical light spread across the other torches and light post.

The consciousness of his mother appeared as the kind gentle woman spirit.  Squaz shook his head in disbelief.  “How did you end up like this?”

The gentle woman spirit spoke in whispers.  She said, “At the end of this journey, you would come across a turquoise tiny gemstone for you.  You must break it for the grips on this world would end.  Your power would double tenfold, my son.”

The woman spirit transformed into a blue orb light.