Cursing as the fingers on his right hand stretched to find a nook in the rock, Caleal wondered, not for the first or last time, what the hell he'd gotten himself into. It had seemed such a good idea at the time. A map some yellow-toothed old fool had wanted to get shot of, a tale of treasure hidden deep within the mountainside and all that was needed was some brave soul to go and get it.
He cursed again as his hand slipped and he half scrabbled, half fell a foot before his boots found an outcrop and his fingernails somehow found some purchase. He let out a deep breath of relief and a silent promise to leave some coin at the very next temple he stumbled across. On the condition of course that he could find a way back out of this place.
He looked down over his shoulder, slowly, careful of his precarious position, hoping for a second that he might see his torch somewhere below, but no flame met his gaze. Only pitch black. Like everything else around him. "Damnit. Mark my words old man, if you don't choke on your next meal, I'll help you on your way. Bastard. 'It'll all be so easy for a young man like you' 'Nothing to it'"
Come on. Keep your head straight Cal. You got down here, you can get back up again.
He took a deep breath and held it as he reached up with his left hand and groped about until he felt a tiny crevice in the stone, then teased his fingers into it and tensed them, testing the hold against his weight. "Okay so far so good," he said as he let his breath out again. The muscles in his left arm flexed as he pulled himself up a little, his right foot reaching out tentatively to find it's own place.
Little by little he found it was working, bit by bit he made his way up the rock face until, finally, his fingers reached up and over finding the ledge he had come down from. He was just getting his elbows up onto the ledge when a light ignited so seemingly bright in the gloom that he almost fell from the shock of it and he was forced to shut his eyes tight.
"Hello boy. Didn't expect to see me here, I wager."
The voice was unmistakable, only one man he'd met had such a squeaky tone. The old man.
Slowly he managed to open his eyes and looked up at the figure towering over him. "What's the meaning of this? You did not warn me this place would be so dangerous."
"My boy." The old man smiled, his yellow toothed grin wide and sharp. "You have no idea how dangerous. You would think to take advantage of what you must have thought was a great opportunity. An old fool throwing away a treasure map without a thought. For a few measely silver coins? Hah!"
Caleal took a moment to appraise the old 'fool'. Before he had been so eager to snap up the map and shoot away that he handled really examined his benefactor. The seemingly old worn robes now had a quality to them, like blue-dyed silk, the patches intricate tiny symbol-patterns of gold thread. As their eyes met, Caleal also saw something else there that frightened him. A glimmer of age beyond age, a keen intelligence and malice. Malice brushed with evil.
He realised that the hairs on the back of his neck were on end and he felt gooseflesh tingling up his arms.
Somehow, without really knowing why, one clear thought resounded in his mind. This is where I die.
"Give my regards to Kalim. He hasn't had a fresh kill in months."
"You bas-" What he had been about to say was cut off as the old man's boot connected with his nose. There was a crunch mingled with pain, then his hands slipped.
Then sound of wind mingled with his own scream, then just darkness. Then nothing.