Alternate Earth, Andromeda
Plex was an adventurer, amateur archeologist, assassin, and lone wolf.
Since being abandoned at six-years old, Plex had always been on his own. His remarkable survival skills were legendary.
His adventures over the course of two decades, were chronicled in every planet in the solar system. His very name became synonymous with fantastic discoveries and daring deeds.
The mountains of Moibus, Ceres IV
Plex could barely see through his goggles. The snow storm was turning into a full-on blizzard when he spotted the building. A round granite tower with one door and no windows.
When he drew near, he saw an old man open the door and gesture for him to enter. Once inside, they descended down a flight of stone stairs and emerged into a great cavern. Candles were burning in little alcoves cut into the native stone.
Shadows danced along the rugged rock walls and the lava stalagmites that rose as high as a hundred feet in the air. The light from the candles reflected off the eyes of little creatures peering out from jagged rock formations.
They walked for a while in silence as the guide led Plex into a network of twisting tunnels. Finally they came to a large room where a throne sat. It’s inhabitant was a tall gangly man with white hair and beard. He wore an ornate helmet.
His guide backed out of the room, bowing with respect.
“Are you the one they call Plex?” the man on the throne asked in a shrill voice.
“I am, lord,” he replied.
“It’s said that you accept any challenge, as long as it makes for a good adventure and pays well.”
“That’s true.”
“Well then, I have a challenge for you that should be irresistible.”
“I’m listening, lord of Moibus.”
“I want you to go to Hell and get my wife who should not be there. It’s me, Satan has a problem with. He cannot hurt me in my kingdom, but he had his minions capture her when she was taking a nap in the courtyard one day.
“How can I enter hell? I’m still alive, and the devil hasn’t come for me yet?”
“My necromancer has a spell that will allow you to enter hell, and return with my wife.”
“I’m intrigued, but I’m still curious what kind of bounty you’re offering? The rumors I heard suggested a person’s weight in the rarest gems in the galaxy.”
“It’s true. Look behind me at the open chests with gems spilling out onto the ground,” the Lord of Moibus assured him.
Plex walked over to them and studied the glittering mass, buying time before giving an answer.
“Where’s your necromancer?”
Hell.
To Plex’s surprise, Hell was darker than a coal mine during a full eclipse of the two suns that surrounded Ceres IV. The spell transported him instantly.
If not for the occasional fire accompanied with screams, he was blind. The thought of finding anyone seemed like a dark joke. He didn’t know which way to go. He steadied himself from panicking and tried to remember everything the necromancer told him.
He counted one hundred steps and stopped. Turning to his right he knocked on the obsidian wall and it swung inward, exposing a dimly lit, sparely decorated room. A woman sat on a small bed and watched him with curiosity as he entered.
“Have you come to free me from eternal nightmares?” she asked with tears in her eyes.
“Yes. Come here, and let me hold your hands.”
As she approached the necromancer’s words came to him;
“Hand-in-hand. Hand-in-hand. Let go, to save a soul.”
As they grasped hands he realized the mistake he made, after repeating the chant. Save a soul. One soul. Not two souls!
He didn’t have time to blink his eye before she disappeared, and the lights went out!
As It Stands, a price is often paid for those bold adventurers who go where no one else has gone before.
The Creative Chronicles of Dave Stancliff 