Cseriana Adventuress Episode 1

7/31/2019 Cseriana Adventuress Episode 1

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Episode 1

Dark Waterby

Jim Anuszczyk

2012 - Jim Anuszczyk


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Look, nobody made you come. Would you just stop whining!Her whisper was harsh, too harsh. Should could see the sting onJunters weathered, stubbly face. She fingered the pommel of her

broadsword and turned away, staring intently at the vineshanging over the cave mouth, less than fifty feet away.

No, I wont stop! he hissed back. This is nuts. If we headback right now, we can still make roll call. You know? So weget paid? Paid is good, Cseriana. Its how we eat.

Softening her expression, she turned back around.I get it, Junter. I really do. Its just not enoughanymore. She yanked off her fake mustacheand held it out. If I have to paste this

stupid thing on and dress up like aman one more time, Im going tokill someone.

So?Not like that! she

snapped, then duckedas her voice echoed

off the cliff.Damn it. Iftheyre in thatcave, I justgaveawayour


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position. Are you happy?Not really. Why dont you take out your frustrations on some

idiot peasant like everyone else?She smiled. Junter was a true mercenary, no sentiment, no

mercy, just a solid, manly, killing machine. She glanced back at the

cliff. Nothing disturbed the vines, not even the strong breeze thatshifted the leaves right in front of her. Her eyebrow arched as sheturned back to face him.

Look at those vines.Yeah.Now look at this bush.Yeah.

You dont see that?Damn it, Cseriana. I hate it when you do that. If you want to tellme something, just say it. Dont make me figure it out. If I couldfigure things out, do you think Id serve Lord Kallingar?

She chuckled at his exasperation. Yeah, ok. The breeze isntmoving those vines. I dont see any reason for it.

Huh, youre right. Great. Now what is it, sorcery or something?

We should just head back. There could be a monster in there.A monster? You think a sorcerous monster lairs three leaguesfrom the city gates. Cmon Junter. Dont be a moron. What Imsaying is, theres something wrong about those vines. Could besorcery. Could be something else. I want to see. If it really is the

bastards who stole the idol from the Hunters Temple, then Imdone with the whole merc thing. Im going to toss this fuzzymustache in the river, buy myself a horse and supplies, and headoff to find my fortune. So, are you in or not?

Yeah, Im in.Cseriana smiled again. She knew that puppy-dog look in his eyes.

She softened her voice again. All right, lets go.She pointed toward the right side of the cave. Junter moved off

without a word, circling through the underbrush to the foot of thecliff. Cseriana darted through the underbrush like a wolf. Within

moments, they stood on opposite sides of the vine covered cave.


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Somethings wrong here. She glanced at the low vines, then thehigher ones above the cave mouth. Though the leaves were thesame color, the shapes were wrong. Higher up, they were narrow,like a javelin. Down here, they were wider, like the obsidianspearheads of the island tribes. Movement caught her eye. Junter

raised the tip of his broadsword and nudged the nearest vine.No! she hissed.In a whipping, green blur of motion, the vines engulfed Junter,

from his sword to his neck and half of his face. The warriorgrunted like an ox and ripped the dagger from his belt. Cserianaleapt forward, raised her sword, and stopped. The momentJunters dagger touched the vines, green tendrils engulfed it along

with his arm to the elbow. Junter thrashed his entire body,desperate to break free, but utterly helpless against the strong,flexible vines.

She watched, motionless. If she tried to slash the vines, shed justend up wrapped in green, writhing death. She wasnt strongenough to pull him free. The trap was perfect, from this side.Without another thought, she slipped into the gap left by the

attacking vines. The slightest edge of one heavy boot grazed the tipof a single leaf. Another whipping green blur engulfed her boot.She yanked her foot from the boot and rolled deeper into the cave.Panic rose in Junters guttural grunts.

There! On the ceiling of the cave, a single, trunk-like vinebranched into dozens of tendrils, spreading out across the opening.Clutching her broadsword in two hands, she leapt high, swinging

with all her might, and cleaved the trunk in two. A low, pain-wracked moan echoed from the depths of the cave. Cserianas eyeswidened. What the hell was that?

Junter swore like a northern sailor as he fell free from the vines.Took you long enough! he barked.Ever see vines growing outof a cave? she said with a grin.What? he snapped, frustrated and perplexed.Look! she said, pointing up at the trunk-like vine.


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Something splashed in the darkness beyondthe skull. The sound snapped Cseriana fromher trance. She fought the urge to run forcover. What was it aboutthe utter blackness of the

skulls left eye thatcaptivated her? Shestepped even closer,


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holding up the torch, closer and closer to the skull. No lightpenetrated that socket, none at all.

Cseriana reached up and touched the skull. It felt no differentthan the stones shed clambered over to get here. She slid her handup slowly until it touched the darkness. She stared, amazed, as the

tips of her fingers disappeared into inky blackness. Emboldened,she pushed her hand in deeper, sliding it along the bottom of thesocket. She heard only the slightest, metallic sound as she touchedsomething long and narrow. With a rush of triumph, she grasped itand snatched back her hand. There, in her hand, lay an oddlytriangular, golden key.

Cseriana pursed her lips hard and caught the cry of elation in her

throat. As Junter moved up to stand beside her, she raised aneyebrow, holding up the golden key. He scowled.Cmon. Theres no way that was put there without a reason.

Somewhere out there, she said, gesturing toward the water anddarkness, is something worth hiding. If we can find it, well, justimagine...A doubtful shake of his massive head was his only response.

* * *

The enormity of the underground lake astounded her. Who knewsuch things even existed. Theyd been following the waters edge,slogging through gray, sticky mud for at least an hour. She litanother torch and glanced over her shoulder.

Junter had fallen silent. He seemed neither amazed norimpressed by the dark lake. His face was as still as stone, like hecould see the future and didnt like it.

Cseriana looked away from his dour expression and pushed on. Afew steps further, the muddy shoreline ended, leaving the dark

water to lap at the stone wall of the cavern.Now what?She pursedher lips and glanced around. Nothing special caught her eye, justmore cave. She took one step into the water. Junter hissed.


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This is madness! You cant wade into dark water. What if youstep right off a cliff? Your gear will drag you down so fast, you

wont stand a chance. This is it. Its time to give up.She shook her head, but knew he was right about the water. Her

heavy boots, pack, padded tunic, helmet, and leather breeches

could drown her in ten feet of water. But what if some greattreasure lay just ahead? Could she really just stop here and neverknow? No. She kicked off her boots and started to unbuckle hersword belt. Junter grabbed her wrists.

No, Cseriana, I wont let you do this. I cant let you wade out intothe darkness unarmed and utterly clueless. You have no idea whatcould happen, and no way to deal with it when it does.

You wont let me? she hissed. Who the hell do you think youare? If you dont have the balls for this, maybe youd better turnback. Im in this to the end, bitter or sweet. She yanked her armsfree and locked him in a venomous glare.

Youre, youre going to die. His whisper was resigned, broken.He turned away and trudged back along the shoreline.

She just stood there and stared as he disappeared into the

blackness. Flint struck steel. A torch flared to life. As he movedfurther and further away, she realized how huge the lake was.When he rounded some distant outcropping of rock and vanished,she shuddered. Utterly and completely alone, she bit her lip andstared off the way he went. Not one glimpse of his torchlightreached her eyes.

Blowing out a heavy sigh, she flopped down on the muddy bankand dumped out her pack, four torches, another tunic, flint, and acouple of days food. She looked forward, then back. Her torch,leaning against a rock beside her, flickered. She lit another and

wrapped her arms around her knees. There was no time for this,no time to think. She knew she either had to head on or head back.

No! she hissed through clenched teeth.She yanked off her helmet and coif and dropped them in the

mud. It felt strange to let her hair fall down on her back. She

grinned as she stripped off her breeches and tunic and tossed them


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on the bank beside her helmet. A strip of cloth, torn from hertunic, served to fasten the gold key around her neck. As she re-

buckled her sword belt, she imagined Junters face if he saw herlike this, half naked with her hair down.

Smiling, she grabbed the lit torch and a spare and waded into the

cool water. She felt so light without the muddy boots and all thatgear. Mud squished between her toes as she waded along the wall.

Ill go until I have to light the second torch, she whispered toherself. The last two should be enough to get me out if I can makeit back to here. She blew out a slow breath through pursed lips.Trying to ignore the chill of the dark water as it touched her barethighs, she moved carefully but steadily, deeper into the darkness.

* * *

When her torch started guttering, Cserianas heart sank. The lakeseemed to go on forever. Though it had yet to get deeper than her

waist, there was no sign of an end. If she didnt turn back now, herlast torch would go out before she could reach her clothes and

gear. Clenching her teeth, she lit the last torch, pressed on andimmediately stubbed her foot on a flat rock. As she felt aroundunder the water, she realized the flat stone was also rectangular.

Another lay right beside it, and another.A walkway?She stepped up and drew her sword. By running the blade along

the edge of the stones beneath the water, she found the raised,stone walkway reasonably easy to follow. She glanced nervously atthe torch and pressed on. The walkway left the cave wall, headingstraight out into open water.

In the first dozen steps, Cseriana felt the slope. The walkwayascended. Another dozen steps and she could see it emerging fromthe water. Her heart pounded. Something was up there on the edgeof the torchlight. She inched forward and held out the torch.A hideous statue carved from dark stone loomed above her, easily

ten feet tall. Its legs bent backward, like a horse. Its upper body

hunched forward, with its hands together, forming a bowl.


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Its face transfixed her. Massivetusks jutted up from itsprotruding lower jaw, past anarrow, skull-like, slit of anose, and almost reached its

bulbous, faceted eyes. Justabove the eyes, thick, bull-likehorns protruded from its

forehead.What madnessis this? Whowould carve

such a thing?Why?When the urgeto run awaymade herhands shake,she suddenly

knew exactlywhy this thingwas here, toscare peopleaway. From

what? Cserianaswallowed hardand inchedcloser until shestood so close

she could


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touch it.Half expecting it to spring to life, she held the torch beneath its

massive, cupped hands. As the flame blackened the stone, sheexhaled and shook her head.Its a scarecrow, not a monster. Shestepped around behind it and discovered that the walkway ended

just a few feet later. Continuing around it, she found herself staringback up at its ugly face without learning a thing. Only two pointsabout this monstrosity held her interest at all, the cupped handsand hideous face. Could it be so simple? Put something in itshands and somehow it reveals a secret?

Sheathing her sword and sticking the torch in the space betweenthe statues elbow and body, she reached up, grabbed its hands,

and pulled. The stone beneath her feet fell away so suddenly thatshe barely managed to hold on. Only the stone directly beneath thestatue remained. Cseriana hung there, with nothing below her butdark water. Craning her neck, she managed a glance over hershoulder. The walkway was completely gone.

First things first, she whispered to herself through clenchedteeth as she shifted her weight from side to side. One hard pull and

a kick brought her high enough to hook her leg on its elbow. Fromthere, it was easy enough to scramble up and straddle its massiveforearm.

Well, this is nice, she whispered, rolling her eyes.Yanking the torch free, she held it aloft and scanned the

darkness. No sign of the walkway. The cave wall lay beyond thetorchlight. There was nothing but her, this ugly statue, anddarkness.

Very nice, she whispered as she smacked the demonic face withan open hand. So, some idiot like me finds this place, makes anoffering into your nasty hands, and gets dumped into the lake todrown for their trouble.

Junters face flashed into her mind. Had she been wearing all hergear, shed be drowning right now. If she ever got out of this, sheowed him one. Shuddering, she couldnt help but wonder. Was all

this just a trap or did it serve another purpose. After all, if it was


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just a trap, the statue was pointless. Why not just have thewalkway collapse when someone reached the end? That woulddrown them just the same. Wouldnt it?

Whats your secret? she whispered, leaning in toward its face,searching for any sign, a seam, some part that could be pulled,

pushed, turned, nothing.After jamming the torch back under its arm, she reached out

anyway, tugged on its tusks, pushed it eyes, and pulled and twistedits massive horns. Nothing moved. Prodding in its mouth and earsrevealed nothing. The nose seemed like the next obvious thing, butit didnt have one. There was just a slot there. Leaning in, shetraced its nose slit with her finger. It was thicker at the bottom and

tapered to a point, an odd triangle, like a skull. The key!Clenching the key in her teeth, she carefully untied the strip ofcloth from around her neck. Then, holding the key carefully in

both hands, she inserted it into its skull-like nose. A satisfying clickmade her heart skip a beat. As she turned it, the whole statueshuttered and vibrated. She released the key and clutched thestatues horns. Water splashed softly below her. As she watched,

the walkway slowly rose back into place.Cseriana snatched the key, swung down to the walkway, grabbedthe torch and ran for the cave wall. As it came into view, somethingstopped her dead in her tracks. She crouched and drew her sword.Something was different. She looked down at the stones of the

walkway and flinched. She shouldnt be able to see them. Before,this close to the cave wall, the walkway was submerged. Her eyesfollowed the path forward. The stones seemed to go right into the

wall.Holding the torch high, she inched forward. The last stone of the

walkway jutted from the wall. She leaned forward and craned herneck. Weird. There was no gap at all between the wall and the

walkway stone. It just vanished into the stone, just like her handwhen she stuck it into the pitch black eye socket of the giant, stoneskull. Cseriana extended her sword. The point slipped into the wall


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as if it wasnt there. Stepping forward, she watched in amazementas more and more of the sword simply vanished into the stone.

Cseriana pursed her lips and lunged forward. Instead ofsmacking into the wall, she passed right through it. Beyond, anarrow, paved, stonework corridor stretched off into darkness. A

distant, hissing whisper echoed off the wall, followed by a splashsomewhere behind her.

Pushing the torch through the wall, she stuck her head backthrough into the cave. Waves lapped the shore as thoughsomething had just fallen into the water. Distant whispers echoedacross the water. Swallowing hard, she pulled back, turned, andtook two dozen quick steps down the corridor. More whispers,

louder than before, almost distinct enough to understand, seemedto come at her from every direction. More voices joined them, andmore, until dozens of whispering voices echoed all around her.

Cseriana... they all whispered at once.Her heart pounded in her throat as she turned and ran down the

corridor. The whispering faded away. Moments later, the corridorended in a door of dark stone. Desperate to get away from the

insidious whispering, she pushed on the door, straining her back,legs, and arms. It swung open just enough to slip through. Thewhispers rose behind her, accompanied by a sliding, slipping, wetsucking sound. She dodged through the door, forced it closed, andexhaled slowly.

Someone stood next to her. She jumped back and raised hersword. The figure was motionless, a statue? Though painted inlifelike detail, it stood as still as stone. She was beautiful from herangular face to her jeweled necklace, belt and long, modest gown.Only her stern expression ruined the effect. The statue appeared todisapprove, like a noblewoman looking down her nose at dirtypeasant children

Cseriana grinned and leaned against the door. It moved, pushingtoward her. Something black, thin and fleshy slipped through theopen crack. Cseriana stared, transfixed by its oily, blue-black skin.

She pushed hard on the door. The massive stone crushed the


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tentacle. Gray, oozing, slime ran down the stone as dozens ofvoices howled in agony.

What the hell is that?Cseriana stepped around the statue and pushed. It toppled

slowly, then fell against the door with a massive thud. Something

bounced on the floor, tinkling, small and metallic. There, next tothe statues face, a necklace sparkled in the torchlight. At the endof a simple golden cord lay a round, gold pendent adorned with asingle, deep red, hemispherical stone.

Though the howling subsided, the whispering continued, dozensof voices, all whispering gibberish that chilled her and shivered herspine. The door shuddered with a massive impact. The statue

shifted forward, then rolled back.Cseriana put her back to the door and braced her legs. The doorshuddered again and pushed her forward. With everything shehad, she pushed back. As the door slammed shut, bits of fracturedstone showered the floor. She looked over her shoulder. Feintcracks riddled the stone.It isnt going to hold for long.

Still glinting at her feet, the necklace caught her eye again. Could

it be some kind of talisman or magical protection? Cserianadropped her torch, snatched the necklace from around the statuesneck and put it on, backing away. As the weight of the talismansettled against her skin, bright light filled the room.

The statue slid forward, pushed by the door. Three, black, fleshytentacles slipped through the crack, reaching, seeking. Cserianaclenched her teeth and lunged forward, hacking hard with her

broadsword. The fleshy tentacle split open like rotten meat.Dozens of voices howled in a chaotic chorus. Oily, gray oozesplattered. Steam hissed up from her blade.

Cseriana backed away as the tentacles withdrew. Somethingglopped on the floor. Looking down, she saw the end of her sword,melted, dripping into a silvery pool. Steam hissed up toward herhand as the blade continued to melt. As she threw it down andstepped back, she bumped into something hard and irregular.


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Unarmed and feeling doomed, Cseriana spun around and staredinto the face of another statue.

This statue wore the bulky furs of a northern nomad. Her facewas stern. Malice flickered in her deep set eyes. The necklacecaught her eye. The same necklace she now wore. The belt, it was

the same as the other statue. As she stared at it, a strange shadowflickered around its edge. Could it be like the necklace? Cserianareached out pulled it free, and put it on, hoping desperately forsomething that would help her against that thing.

Her slight clothing vanished. Cserianas mouth dropped open.Something warm and weird slid into her mind, probing herthoughts, feeling out her nature. The door shuddered. Chunks of

stone showered to the floor. Then the belt started to grow.Tiny, dark red beads erupted from it, streaming up and down herbody, covering her from chest to hip in a strange, alien hide thecolor of deep red wine. More tiny beads cascaded down from herknees and elbows, wrapping her feet and hands in thick black

boots and gloves. It felt like nothing and armor at the same time.A huge chunk of stone thundered to the floor. Looking up, she

watched in horror as an enormous mass of black, oily fleshsqueezed through a gap in the door. As it did, more chunks ofstone fell away. When the first tentacles reached the floor, dozensof mouths opened on the fleshy surface and whispered madness.

Cserianas eyes darted around the room in search of anything shecould use for a weapon. There! On the far side, almost lost in adark alcove, another statue lurked. As she darted toward it, anelegant sword hilt cast strange, inconsistent shadows. The doorcollapsed, thundering a heap of thick stone shards across the floor.The whispering rose, a mad chorus of dark, hungry jubilation.

Snatching the sword from the statue, Cseriana spun on her healand set her jaw. Dozens of mouths with hundreds of fangs, eruptedfrom the black, fleshy bulk. Oily tendrils rose and fell in a chaotic,hypnotic, writhing pattern, then suddenly withdrew as twomassive tentacles, each ending in a fanged maw, erupted from the

creatures bulk, surging at her, ravenous with dark hunger.


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Ducking to one side, she barely dodged thedripping tentacles. Cseriana turned abruptlyand slashed up with her new blade. As it slicedthrough the black, fleshymass of tentacles, she

marveled at the bladesbalance. Gray oozedripped down thegleaming blade, doing noharm at all. The creaturehowled in dozens of voicesas the half-severed

tentacle flopped,


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writhing, on the floor. With a flash of her blade, Cseriana sliced itclean. The tentacle, free of the body, melted as it sank to the floor,forming a slick, oily, gelatinous pool.

Cseriana seized on the creatures howling hesitation and steppedforward, slashing at the other tentacle. The creature hissed, reared

back, and surged forward biting as a half dozen, huge mouthserupted. She rolled back and to one side, narrowly avoiding bitesfrom mouths so large they could easily take her whole leg. Too late,she saw the trickery. As the remaining massive tentacle struckdown from overhead, she realized all those mouths were just adistraction to throw her off balance. She rolled wildly, kicking herfeet hard in a wild attempt to dodge. The oozing maw clamped

down on her left ankle with astounding pressure, pressure, butlittle pain. Cseriana hacked and hacked again. The mass of thecreature heaved backward, leaving the severed tentacle to melt,splashing to the ground and down her leg.When she regained her feet, she looked down at her ankle. The

creatures fangs had failed to penetrate the thick, black bootscreated by the belt.

The whispering rose to a mind-numbing cacophony. The creaturewithdrew, gathering upon itself, roiling as a single massive tentacleerupted from its top. Cseriana stepped forward, holding her bladeat an angle, ready to slice the massive tentacle as it struck. As sheapproached, the top of the tentacle split into six smaller tentacles,each with two, thick fangs. It surged forward. Cseriana started anarcing swing. The tentacle shifted directions. In a lightening, fluidmotion, it withdrew the mouths, formed a single, massive, fist-likeknob and brought it crashing into her side.

Cseriana sailed across the room and smashed heavily into thewall. She gasped for breath. Each gulp fired a stabbing painthrough her side. The creature exhaled dozens of satisfied moansand slid forward. A single, enormous mouth split it wide, wideenough to devour her in a single bite. As she stared down the mawof the beast, a strange, unnatural point of light glowed deep in its

mass. She rolled to her feet in a crouch. The enormous mouth


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yawed open. Cseriana dove forward into the open maw, thrustingwith all her might at the glowing point. Sword bit unnatural flesh,passed through, and pierced the glow with a loud crack.

The beast wailed a deafening cry in so many voices Cserianareleased her sword and clapped her hands over her ears. It reared

back, upending her, and spat her out in a massive, vomitingshudder. Crashing down hard on the stone floor, Cseriana stayeddown and watched the creature from a prone sprawl. It heaved andshuddered, quaked and folded in on itself, shivered, undulated,and split, flooding the floor with thick, gelatinous ooze. She leaptto her feet and backed away. As the last of the creatures remainsspread across the chambers floor, two objects lay at its center, her

sword and a black gem, as big as a mans fist, split in two.Staggering over to the toppled statue, Cseriana sat, rubbing herbruised ribs. Her eyes wandered the room as she regained herbreath. At her feet, her torch lay doused in the pool of thinningmuck. When had that gone out?There was no light in the room atall, yet she could see. She glanced down at the amulet and grinned.The deep-red hide stretched across her body glistened though

there was no light for it to reflect.She pursed her lips and looked away. Her new sword lay on theslick stone. The muck from the creature had become so watery thatit had mostly dispersed. She stood, walked to the center of thechamber, and picked up the sword.

It sure would be easier if you had a scabbard, she said to thesword.

Faint, red glimmers danced around the red stone in its pommel.Cseriana reach up and traced a line across the stone, watching asthe glow followed her finger. The red stone shifted slightly. Raisingan eyebrow, she looked closer, pinched the stone and wiggled it. Itmoved, just a little. Pulling on it didnt work. The stones arc wastoo smooth. The slightest push on the stone and the sword

vanished. A ring appeared on the middle finger of her right hand.Cseriana chuckled, turned her hand over to examine the ring, then,

on an impulse, clenched her fist. The sword reappeared so quickly


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she almost dropped it. Another push on the stone and the swordwas gone, leaving only the ring.

Now thats something, she whispered, grinning.At her feet lay the broken halves of the creatures heart stone. A

slight glow flickered around them too, especially at the center. She

wondered. If her sight had changed when she put on the necklace,were the stones really glowing or was it something only the amuletallowed her to see? She pulled the necklace off, utter darkness.Looking down, there was no glow at all. There was nothing butabsolute darkness. Had she faced that creature without the amulet,shed never have seen the glow of its heart. It would have devouredher.

Placing the necklace back around her neck, she bent down andpicked up the black stone halves. The glow was fading quickly.Theyd soon be nothing more than very odd stones. Hopefully,theyd fetch enough to buy a horse and provisions.

Please visit

Cseriana.comfor more exciting, fun, adventure stories!
http://www.cseriana.com/http://www.cseriana.com/http://www.cseriana.com/

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Cseriana Adventuress Episode 1

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