Gardahr the Grave Raider

fictionspawn Aak, , ,

Grave Raider

He took a step down the slippery stairway. The scarce light from the tomb entrance made his trained eyes capable of seeing the steps going down into the darkness. Nothing more. A vast blackness in front was all there was.

Somewhere down there was the tomb of Ack Asamrk, the leader of the once so powerful Ingran Kuthu empire. Where there was power, there was wealth.

At the end of the stairway Gardahr saw the shining wet dirt floor. He took anther step. The floor moved. He pulled his sword. A hiss from behind.

A head came shooting towards him as he spun around. His sword struck the hard beak. He lost balance, fell down the stairs.

Underneath him a snakelike body undulated, crawled around him. It tightened its grip. Two red eyes stared at him from underneath. Pulled back. Struck.

His sword went down the creature’s throat. Razor sharp teeth cut into his arm as he pierced the soft flesh. The monster shook. His sword came out of its back. Another attacked from between the billowing tubes.

He struck. He struck again. Another monster fell to the ground. He heard the third one hissing in the darknes.

He pulled out from the grip of the dead body, got up on his feet.

Come out! he shouted. Come out and fight!

He ran over the mass of meat on the ground, following the sound. Jumped into the dark nothingness with his sword high. Red eyes in the darkness. The sword sunk through the hard shell, into the meat underneath.

For a while Gardahr lay on the ground, catching his breath. His arm was hurt badly, but he could probably get to town before it killed him. He knew people who could heal it if he was able to pay. He wasn’t.

He got on his feet. He had to get out of there before the meat got cold and the parasites started looking for a new host, but he moved further in. At the end of the hall there was a smaller room. The walls were carved with symbols and images of gods and war. A sarcophagus stood in the centre. He pulled the heavy lid off. A skeleton stared up at him with empty eye sockets. Around it there were all kinds of gems and jewellery.

Now he would live like a rich man once again, at least for a couple of moons.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorgal

Despair

Published by fictionspawn Aak

Norwegian trilingual writer and illustrator. Contact information in my Gallery.

19 Comments

    1. It would be at short terms, but he will need to pay the healers when he gets back to civilization. Nothing’s for free in his world, and without professional help he’ll be done for. Thanks a lot, Draliman! Happy you liked it.

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  5. What a wonderful story! I could really ‘feel’ the protagonist’s experience.
    I still can’t decide which I like the more, the illustration or the words – I always look forward to both.

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