Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

forgot to duck their head. Rupert glared into the darkness before him, but the lantern's pool of light didn't extend more than a few feet beyond the Champion.
    The tunnel suddenly widened out into a cavern, a good hundred feet in diameter. Set roughly in the centre, a wide shaft fell deep into the earth. Positioned over the pit was a heavy-duty windlass, from which hung a thick, sturdy rope that disappeared down into the shaft. The Champion gestured for the guards to work the windlass, and Rupert realised he was looking at a simple elevator. He moved over to the shaft's edge, and peered gingerly down into the pit. The sickly smell was immediately stronger.
    'Smells like something died down there,' muttered one of the guards disgustedly, as he sheathed his sword and helped take the strain on the wheel. The rope snapped taut, and then slowly began to wrap itself around the overhead windlass as the elevator rose reluctantly from the bottom of the shaft. Rupert moved back from the edge, frowning unhappily as he finally realised why the smell had seemed so familiar: it was the same stench of decay he'd found in the Darkwood. He watched the rope gather on the solid steel spindle for several minutes, and tried to visualise how far down the shaft must go. He gave up after a while. The answer disturbed him. He moved over to join the Champion.
    'Is this the only way down?' he asked quietly.
    'Aye, Sire,' said the Champion. 'One of the guards will go down first, to spy out the situation. Once he's given the all-clear, I'll send back for more guards to work the windlass, and then we can follow him down.'
    Rupert scowled. 'I don't like leaving one man down there on his own.'
    'You're a Prince,' said the Champion. 'You have no right to risk your life unnecessarily.'
    Rupert raised an eyebrow at him, and then looked away as the elevator platform finally lurched into view. One of the guards cursed softly, and another blessed himself. The solid-oak platform was scarred and burned as though with acid, and the last few yards of the rope were scorched and discoloured. The guards hurriedly made fast the windlass, and then everybody froze as a sound drifted up out of the shaft, a long, sliding sucking sound, culminating in a deep bass grunt that seemed to shiver through the very stone of the cavern.
    Rupert moved forward, and stared grimly at the battered wooden platform. 'Stand ready, sir Champion.
    I'm going down.'
    'No, Sire,' said the Champion firmly. 'It's too great a risk.'
    That's why I have to go. Whoever sank this shaft let it fall too far—they've woken something deep in the earth that should never have been disturbed. Cold steel isn't enough against creatures of the dark, sir Champion. You need a magic sword. Like mine.'
    The two men stared steadily at each other.
    'You swore to follow my orders,' said Rupert softly, and the Champion bowed slightly.
    'Step aboard, Sire. We'll lower you a few yards at a time. Sing out if you hit any trouble, and we'll bring you straight back up. If you're too far down to be heard, slap the rope twice with the flat of your sword.'
    Rupert nodded, and stepped gingerly on to the platform. The rope creaked, but the scarred wood felt solid enough under his feet. 'Lower away, sir Champion.'
    'Aye, Sire.' The Champion joined the guards at the wheel, and the elevator sank jerkily into the shaft.
    Rupert carefully placed his lantern on the edge of the platform, so as to have one hand free. The walls of the shaft moved slowly past him, gleaming dully in the pale golden light. Rupert sniffed the close air, and grimaced. The stench of corruption was growing stronger. He remembered the red shoe, and tightened his grip on the rainbow sword. The platform descended steadily into the pit, and the lamplit cavern above was soon nothing more than a shrinking circle of light. Rupert shifted nervously from foot to foot, and tried not to think about how much further he still had to go before he reached the bottom of the shaft. He glanced into a shadowed cavity in the left-hand wall as it rose past him, and then yelled for the guards to stop the elevator. The platform sank another few feet and then slammed to a halt. Rupert grabbed the shuddering rope to keep from falling, and then looked for the cavity, but it now lay just beyond his reach.
    'Are you all right, Sire?' The Champion's voice seemed faint, and very far away.
    'I'm fine!' Rupert yelled back. 'Raise the platform a little; I've found something!'
    There was