THE DELVING Copyright 2016 Mark J. Shields
This book, which is 62 chapters long, was written by Lutheran educator Mark Shields for his two homeschool students during their years in high school. It is an authorized sequel to Frederic S. Durbin's first novel, The Threshold of Twilight. Devon and Brianna, and over a hundred other adults and kids, accompanied Mark on dozens of tandem bicycle rides on the network of trails around Pittsburgh, including some of his seven trips from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC, as part of the club known as Mileposters. A link to the Mileposters site is at the end of this chapter.
The Delving, a novel of Earthwithin
for Brianna and Devon
Even one ray of
sunshine is
sweet.
-- a saying of the Wise Elders
Chapter 1: The Purloined Bride
Ithuriel Memnon stared sorrowfully at the heart-piercing rays of the vivid orange and purple sunset. Jagged edges of rock slanted away sharply on all sides. Her abductor was somewhere below. "See it well," he had purred. "It will be your last. When you have become my wife, you will weep in darkness to remember what it was like. You will wait for me without hope, looking forward to the dread of my return from the brightness above the Earth's surface."
The erstwhile apprentice of magic struggled to hold on to one ray of hope as tears began to surge toward the corners of her eyes. Her dark hair was tangled and matted. It had been six interminable days of exhaustion as she was forced to march away from from the fastness of the green stone tower of Esdraelen, toward the Delving, a vast underground fortress which was apparently now under the control of her captor, Scratch, the wicked Demon Man of the Woods. She and her twin brother Ithamar had been defeated as they tried to defend the tower for their master, the wizard Serun Darkinglow, and she had been taken captive. She did not know what had become of Ithamar.
"Fair Hen."
Ithuriel's tired eyes continued their weeping, and her ears heard nothing.
"Fair Hen!" The voice was louder, but still very soft.
"Tam Lin is near, and Ithamar. Pray heed me. But do not move. Only listen closely, and spread your fingers if you hear and understand."
Her being suddenly charged with new life, Ithuriel fought for what seemed like an eternity to unwrap her fingers from the tight little balls which they had become, as she had been gazing out into the sky over the river threading its way past Firefly Landing. She had not seen the dark-blue bird-man creeping over the rim of the rock. Ithamar--and her beloved one, the minstrel Tam Lin!
Arkh smiled to himself when he saw that she had heard him. He had maneuvered with great difficulty to fly into the narrow fissure beneath the peak where Ithuriel stood, and twisted himself unbelievably to make it up over the edge.
"When you are led past the landing near the entrance to the Delving, jump into the river. Ithamar and Tam Lin will..."
The uneven tread of one booted foot and one horse's hoof sounded a knell on the path to the rock, and Arkh quickly spun around, spreading his wings and making a desperate dive into the air below, twisting his head back just in time to catch a glimpse of a huge, icy hand rudely grasping Ithuriel's arm.
"It is time to go, my pretty one. The entrance to the Delving will soon be shrouded in darkness, and our path is narrow and slippery." Scratch could sound almost human at times, even if he did not look human, or act like it.
"You're hurting my arm!"
Scratch was full of mock politeness. "Oh, my, we mustn't do that! Might ruin the bride for the wedding!" His face displayed an evil sneer. Not waiting for further pleasantries, he dragged the apprentice down the splintered track and toward the Landing. They were soon joined by Flimb, who had been with them for most of the journey. Like his master, Flimb wore a heavy, shrouded black cloak decorated with a single, decaying black rose, but he was shorter, and his face was brown, with strange, huge domed orbs instead of eyes; he spoke through a nose which resembled an abbreviated elephant's trunk. Scratch's face, livid with decay, mouth filled with jagged, sharp teeth, simply filled Ithuriel with dread, but Flimb's gave her the creeps--monsters were at least supposed to have teeth, she thought--like Scratch. Flimb also had two normal feet, instead of a foot and a horse's hoof.
As she struggled to stay on her feet in the growing darkness, Ithuriel pondered what the bird-man had told her, hoping that Scratch had not seen him, or heard what he said. She had gathered bits and pieces about Firefly Landing from the demon-men as they prodded her through dense forests and constricted passes, but except for the fact that it was on the left, where the river ran, she didn't know much. She steeled herself to bolt and jump when the time came.
It came too soon, and it never came at all. As the path rounded a huge boulder, the pale lights of Firefly Landing abruptly came into view, ahead and to the left, at the bottom of the bluff on which they were standing. Dancing on slender poles, the lamps lined both sides of a long wooden dock which extended some thirty feet into the river. Their reflection glistened on the smooth, deep waters which flowed just below them. Scratch, who was walking in front of her, stopped and turned to face his prisoner. His henchman drew up so close behind Ithuriel that she could feel his elephant-trunk tickling her collar.
"It's about time for you to start wearing an engagement ring, don't you think? But in all fairness, the groom should wear one, too!" He produced from the putrid folds of his robe a pair of rusty handcuffs, snapping them onto Ithuriel's right wrist, and his left, before she could blink an eyelash. Now the tears began to come to her eyes again. There had been a bit of hope... had been.....
Well, if this was the only choice she had, then she would just take her captor along with her. Coiling her body for the final plunge, she launched herself over the edge. Instantly, pain shot through her wrist and arm as her weight bore against Scratch's ghastly bulk. As he was caught by surprise, a fell shout emerged from the decaying lips of the Demon Man. Ithuriel's sudden action surprised Flimb as well, but before the unholy pair could break free of the restraining lip of earth and rock, the lesser demon-man lunged forward and caught hold of the horse's hoof, bloodying his chin as he encountered the iron shoe.
The bluff was not quite vertical, and despite Ithuriel's determination to bury all three of them in the depths of the river, stubby trees and small outcroppings of rock provided sufficient purchase for the flailing right arm of the would-be groom and the dragging boots of his sidekick. The trio came to rest on a narrow ledge about ten feet below the path, Ithuriel's legs still dangling over the defile.
Scratch's rotting face was inflamed with fury. "I offer you a much darker future than this," he hissed. "You will come to treasure me more fully tomorrow." He placed his boot and horse's hoof firmly on the outcropping, and drew himself up to his full height. Dragging Ithuriel up and letting her dangle out over the water like a rag doll, he produced a rusty key and thrust it into her face. "I should release your cuff and let you fall to death with your lover--that's what you really want, isn't it? Do you think I did not hear what the bird-man said? We shall eat his bones for a wedding-feast! And when we arrive at the Landing, you will see what has become of your beloved minstrel!"
The black-robed pair then withdrew sharp, black daggers from hidden sheaths, driving them into crevices in the face of the bluff as they pulled the purloined apprentice back up to the path. Shoving her brutally along the top, and then down a precarious stone staircase, they arrived at the dock. Arrow shafts littered the water, and a sodden green hat with a drooping feather floated in the river not far from shore. All hope drained from Ithuriel when she saw it. The flickering lights along the planks of the dock cast wan illumination on her colorless face.
"That is the last you will see of your song-boy," leered Scratch. "Now let's be going home!"
Ithuriel was in shock, beyond weeping. She offered no resistance as she was led along the dock, but she was puzzled. She had somehow thought that the entrance to the Delving would be somewhere in the bluff's wall.
When they arrived at the end of the dock, Scratch inserted the key into the lock of his own handcuff, releasing it with a rusting screech. "You will not attempt to escape again," he directed. Ithuriel saw a squat, black boat below them in the water. "Step in. It will take you to your bridal bower. But first Flimb will descend, to offer you his aid."
Ithuriel died a little bit more inside as her "escort" stepped down into the boat, offering her a scaly hand. She wanted to swing the loose handcuff and hit him in the eye, but there seemed nowhere to go. Doing as she was told, she settled onto a narrow bench in the bow. Flimb sat in the stern, and Scratch, following them, lowered himself between them and took the oars in his menacing hands. Expertly turning the boat, he headed it under the dock. Ithuriel could not believe her eyes. The poles of the dock, extending down past them into the water, slowly passed by as Scratch rowed toward the shore. Bits of luminance from the firefly-lights above bounced off the dark river. The boat slowed as utter blackness approached them. Ithuriel braced herself for a collision with the river-bank, but there was none. As the craft was swallowed into darkness, Ithuriel was amazed to feel a warm, friendly hand grasp one of hers. She knew that hand--it belonged to her twin brother. As quickly as it had come, the hand withdrew, but Ithuriel once again knew that her future was not without promise.
CHAPTER 2
MILEPOSTERS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
MILEPOSTERS
The Allegheny Trail Alliance Web site has maps
and many links to information on trails in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, and West Virginia.
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