Lurking in the Shadows

By Doug Ward

With the war now behind them, the fellowship is broken. Den and Bronwynn use Springdale as a home base from where they strike out against demons and other evil. Scree returns to Hogladur as an old foe from the Underdeep threatens his kin. Meanwhile, Pinch heads back home only to encounter something sinister in the shadows.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug Ward
• Release date: Oct 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005051648

Doug Ward

Doug Ward currently lives in Western Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Slippery Rock University. He has a BFA is in Fine Art and spends much of his time doing oil paintings, which incorporate mythology and science, and writing.Doug's most recent series is "The War of the Stone." It is a fantasy series that introduces his world and the mythological beings who inhabit it. The first book is called, "Lich." If you like goblins, necromancers, and mayhem in general, this series is for you.Of his first series, The True Story of the Zombie Apocalypse, Doug Ward says, "I like to write about parasitic zombies. They feel (to me) more scientifically grounded than other types. It's also pretty scary how many parasitic creatures are inside of us at this very moment. Some have even bonded with us for so long that they are actually a part of our DNA. Parasites have been known to take over their hosts. A few years ago, my wife called me from a friend's house and said that a mouse kept trying to snuggle with the cat. Actually nuzzling up to the cat's face. I quickly informed her that the mouse was infected by a parasite and that they needed to remove it from the house immediately.The parasite wanted to be eaten by the cat so it could continue its life cycle in the bowels of the unfortunate creature. This flatworm not only controls mice, but it can infect humans as well. "I have blended many scientific ideas into Parasite, which is a four book series.Saving Jebediah is a fun piece of fan fiction I wrote for a contest Mark Tufo was having. It should be read as a prequel because the characters in Saving Jebediah turn up in the 4 book series."If you want to get in touch, you can find him at https://wardswoods.wixsite.com/dougward, tweet him @authordougward, and check out his fan page at https://www.facebook.com/wardswoods/.

Book preview

Lurking In the Shadows

By Doug Ward

Edited by J.D. Reed

Copyright 2022 Doug Ward

Smashwords Edition

Introduction

With the war now behind them, the fellowship is broken. Den and Bronwynn use Springdale as a home base from where they strike out against demons and other evil. Scree returns to Hogladur as an old foe from the Underdeep threatens his kin. Meanwhile, Pinch heads back home only to encounter something sinister in the shadows.

License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Scott Lee, who is the guy that I always bounce ideas off of. My wife, who is supportive of my strange ideas; and a big, special thanks to my awesome editor, J.D. Reed, without whom, I wouldn’t have a readable sentence in the book.

Map of Terrine

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Draug

Chapter 2 The Consequences for Past Failures

Chapter 3 Prey

Chapter 4 Kenrik

Chapter 5 Adder Stones

Chapter 6 No Honor Among Thieves

Chapter 7 That's Impossible

Chapter 8 Trellheim Kor

Chapter 9 A Crappy Command

Chapter 10 Trolls

Chapter 11 A Great Debt

Chapter 12 A Moment of Sadness

Chapter 13 We are all Monsters

Chapter 14 Into the Underdeep

Chapter 15 Spying on Shadows

Chapter 16 The Search for Pinch

Chapter 17 Bad News

Chapter 18 Buried Alive

Chapter 19 An Old Friend

Chapter 20 Things Aren’t Going as Planned

Chapter 21 A Change of Heart

Chapter 22 Taking Back Control

Chapter 23 Another Expedition is Formed

Chapter 24 A Pair of Farewells

Chapter 25 An Uneasy Command

Chapter 26 The Gift and the Grift

Chapter 27 Encounter in the Underdeep

Chapter 28 A Missing Companion

Chapter 29 Time is Running Out

Chapter 30 A Promise Kept

Chapter 31 A Few Sweet Words

Chapter 32 Warn Me

Chapter 33 I Have a Plan

Chapter 34 The Battle is Joined

Chapter 35 The Impossible Happens

Chapter 36 Hope

Chapter 37 The Aftermath

Chapter 38 Welcome Them

Chapter 39 The Plan

Chapter 40 A Hard Decision

Chapter 41 A Month Later

Other Fine Books by Doug Ward

About the Author

Chapter 1

Draug

The vivisectionist scratched at the fresh scar that traced around her eye socket as she studied the perverse body that lay before her. It was a work in progress. Although a stained and rumpled sheet covered the bottom half of the patient’s torso, its upper half was in full view.

The subject’s head was shaved and she had replaced its eyes with a series of feelers, much like a crustacean. Rough, durable plates extended down its arms, ending with pinchers. The crab-like claws were different sizes, the right one was as long as the experiment’s torso.

Draug traced her still-new eye socket as she admired her handiwork on the wooden operating table. Flies swarmed over the work surface, landing in the puddles of ichor left by her current experiment. It was a study, a means to an end.

The twisted vivisectionist believed she was making better life forms than nature had. Draug spent her life’s work blending living forms in order to create something unique. Many of her creations were truly spectacular, more powerful or faster than the mundane creatures that were born every day. She felt she was doing a god’s work here in her lab.

The scar was from a failed surgery. Her new eye, a young giant eagle’s, had been substituted in place of her own. Draug thought it might assist her during her surgeries in some way, but now the ruined eye was hidden by swollen lids, useless. Even a botched attempt was a learning experience, however. She could make another attempt later. In the meantime, she had the nearly completed man-thing to work on.

Weevil! Bring me one of the stones, Draug demanded. It was the last step in finishing her current work.

At once, her small, winged homunculus climbed up on a top shelf to retrieve what its master needed. Weevil was a marvelous work of art. It was made from clay, which has an exorbitant amount of organic material already, but Draug had added some of her flesh to the mix. That way, she added even more living material to the experiment. The spell that gave it life culminated with a sprinkling of the vivisectionist’s blood to complete the bond between the two.

Thus joined, they shared a psychic link that knew no bounds. No distance could separate the mental connection between the two, but the magical construct could not speak.

They also shared other traits. The woman could see through her familiar’s eyes, as well as use the creature’s other senses, making it a perfect spy. That’s what she used Weevil for most of the time, as well as flying patrols around her hideout.

With all the positive attributes the bond created, there was one glaring weakness. When one of them suffered any type of injury, it was mirrored on the other. Because of that problematic effect, Draug kept Weevil safe at all costs. When the homunculus went on any sort of mission, the vivisectionist made her small helper invisible.

Tiny wings beat the air as the creature retrieved the adder stone for its mistress. The vivisectionist watched as her construct brought the powerful, magical token. Adder Stones came in many shapes and sizes, yet they had one feature in common; a hole. The opening made it convenient to feed a thong through and wear about one’s neck.

Don’t bring it too close, Draug warned, otherwise it will disrupt the spell keeping my new creation alive. It has to be added at just the right time.

Although Weevil knew all of this, it cackled in glee at its participation in her experiment. She passed her hand over the monster’s fresh wounds, healing any injury. With a small knife, she made a tiny incision in its chest. Ok, she directed the homunculus, insert the stone.

The creature’s tiny claws parted the opening and deftly slipped it inside. Draug set about closing it with the stone inside. After stitching it closed, she cut the sinew suture so it would heal naturally. She set the needle off to one side and marveled at her creation.

Now, all we have to do is activate the stone, she muttered to Weevil. Mind you, stay away from this creation from this point on. I don’t know how you will react to the stone’s new magic. With their psychic link, she actually didn’t have to warn her minuscule helper, but having no one to talk to had made her quite mad.

Adder Stones had innate magical powers, yet in an old scroll, she had discovered a way to twist their purpose. Commonly, they protected the wearer from many things; they safeguarded the wearer from evil. By perverting that trait, the author of the scroll was able to make an Adder Stone that would protect the wearer from good. She adapted them to something more insidious.

After taking a cleansing breath, she recited her spell. Draug channeled her magic directly into the stone, changing the magic that nature had intended for it. This was a recurring theme in her life.

After her spell was complete, she placed a hand on the table to steady herself. She had used a lot of her power, both magical and physical, in the crafting of the beast before her. A satisfied smile crept across her lips.

Just then, the door crashed inward. It startled Draug, who had just relaxed. Spinning to face the distraction, she detected two forms silhouetted in the dim moonlight, a large warrior woman and a slight male.

She knew she was too weak to fight them off herself. Come, my children. We are under attack!

Draug, I presume. Your evil experiments are over! the youth demanded.

The vivisectionist moved to the back of the room. She could hear her creations heeding her call. The sight of her current experiment lying on the table gave the two interlopers pause. That shock was just the thing she needed to exploit.

What have you done to this poor creature? Bronwynn gasped.

With every moment, Draug edged her way toward the back room. I improved him. Isn’t he a wonder to behold?

You’re mad! Den exploded. We’re here to stop you!

As he tempered his initial horror, he could hear movement from outside. It sounded like a cacophony of noise. Hooves pounded and eerie cries cut through the night. Bronwynn whirled about, sword in hand, to meet the threat approaching from outside.

I don’t think you’ve met my friends, Draug drawled.

As the words left her lips, a dark, furry form emerged from the back room. It looked like the head of a bat was merged with the body of a young man, which was covered with fur. A moment later, the room filled with a noxious stench.

After the creature entered the room, Draug slipped behind it, attempting to flee. Den called up a bolt of power which flew from his hand, only to disappear as it impacted against the wretched monster's hide. It had no visible effect.

The corrupted Adder Stone, which Draug added to all of her creations, gave them immunity to magic. She feared wizards would again destroy all of her creations with a single spell, as had happened in the past, but that was before she discovered the scroll.

Confused by the results of the spell and with the monster closing, Den hurled a bolt of lightning. The parts of the bolt that made contact fizzled out of existence, while a few stray forks blasted the room.

Volatile potions exploded, spraying the far wall with burning liquid. Everything it landed on erupted in flames.

With a high-pitched shriek, the abomination jumped on Den, nearly bowling him over. As the two struggled, the mage called out, Bronwynn! Help me!

While the bat-thing bit at him several times, Den struggled to keep it away. The young mage noticed rows of sharp teeth when the bat opened its mouth to shriek again. Fetid breath assaulted him as the two careened about the room, smashing furniture as they struggled against one another.

The floor was littered with debris, making the footing precarious. When the creature slipped on a broken table leg, Den seized his dagger and brought it into play. He stabbed the thing in its shoulder and it cried out in agony. The bat-thing twisted its torso, ripping the knife from his grip.

Arm now hanging uselessly at its side, the monster fought with even more fury. The creature pulled Den’s sleeve, spinning him against the table holding Draug’s current experiment. They knocked the table over, sending the wizard to the floor and into the puddle of ichor beneath it.

His hands slipping in the slimy bodily ooze, Den tried to regain his footing, only to be pushed back into it as the abomination pounced on him. The creature only had one functioning arm, but both of the mage’s hands were now occupied by keeping the creature’s snapping maw at a distance.

Flames crackled as the two wrestled. Out of the corner of his eye, the young wizard noted the cabin was rapidly becoming engulfed as more potions exploded in the intense heat. The air was full of noxious smoke, burning his lungs and causing his eyes to water.

While the two continued in their stalemate, he came to the realization that they were both going to die in this inferno if he didn't do something quickly. He had to take a chance. That’s when he spied his dagger, which was still in the monster’s shoulder where he stabbed it. Den slid one hand under the thing’s neck and reached for the knife. After grabbing its hilt, he wrenched it free, but his other hand, greasy from the ichor, slipped away from the abomination’s scruff. Once free, the bat's mouth shot down upon the wizard’s own neck.

Den screamed in pain as the jagged teeth tore into his flesh. In fury, he pounded his blade into his attacker's head. Revolted, he stabbed it over and over until he was sure it was dead. Struggling to breathe, he pushed the body off of him. The fire was raging and the smoke made it hard to see, but he knew he could not stay here much longer, so he crawled for the door.

When he crawled through the entry, cool, crisp air washed over him. He coughed, clearing his lungs as he weakly got to his knees and searched for his friend. He could hear the sounds of battle, but was helpless to give aid in his present condition.

When his eyes did adjust to the darkness outside, he witnessed his friend deliver a death blow to some sort of monster, but it was too dark to see what it was. Bronwynn hurried to his side and helped him away from the blaze.

Did you get her?

The young mage shrugged. One of those things attacked me and she slipped into the back room. If you want to check-

An explosion sounded inside the cabin. A ball of fire belched out of the door as the back half of the building collapsed to the ground.

I think I’ll pass, thank you, she replied between ragged breaths. What were they?

Den took a moment to gather his thoughts. Draug was a vivisectionist. Those were some of her experiments.

Lovely, the swordswoman gasped. Let’s go around the cabin and check for any sign of her.

Den cast a dazzling orb of light so they could see and the two set off, circling the perimeter. Toward the rear of the building, they found a well-worn path, so they followed it. As the trail continued, the two noticed a growing stench in the air. It was the sickeningly sweet scent of rotting flesh. The trail ended at the edge of a pit. Both winced at the sight and odor emitting from the waste pit. The top was covered with a writhing, white mass.

I can smell it, but I can’t see anything, Den admitted.

Bronwynn reached down and picked up a rock. Maybe this will help.

The warrior tossed the fist-sized stone into the center of its mass. As the rock struck the surface, the squirming covering parted in a wide opening, revealing bones and other discarded materials that Draug wanted to dispose of. Den realized the writhing mass were maggots.

The wizard’s face turned white and he spun away from his friend before emptying his stomach.

As quickly as it appeared, the opening closed again. It’s all covered up again, Bronwynn informed him.

I’ll take your word for it, he assured her. He wiped his mouth with a sleeve.

Wizards! she chided. Then, she noticed the blood on his neck. You’re bleeding.

His hand shot to his neck and came back spotted with blood. It isn’t bleeding badly. I’ll be alright.

I’ll clean it when we return home, she said.

He kept his eyes averted from the discard pit and studied the ground. Can you see any recent trace of her passage?

No. The path has too many tracks overlapping each other, she informed him. I have very basic tracking skills. Maybe if I were Pinch, I could tell you something. Let’s walk the outside of the pit and look for any sign of someone fleeing.

The two circled everything twice so they wouldn’t miss anything. They stopped back at the scene of Bronwynn’s battle. Five corpses of whatever they were lay scattered about the yard. Den approached each one and cast a simple cantrip. Every time, it failed to take hold.

There’s something wrong here.

The warrior feigned shock. Do you think?

Not that, he corrected her. When the abomination attacked me, my magic didn’t affect it. I had to kill it with my dagger.

Impressive. I killed these five while you were playing with one. Was it big? Bronwynn said with a smile.

Huge, Den lied while ignoring the jibe. There’s something we aren’t seeing. Let’s flip all the bodies over, face up.

As they did so, the two observed that the bodies all had something in common. Somewhere on their torso was a scar, as if they had a similar surgery of some type. Den dropped to his knees and drew his dagger.

Bronwynn watched in disbelief. You got sick from the natural process of some maggots doing nature’s work, yet you’re going to cut into a corpse just for fun?

Pausing for a moment, he looked up at her. We really have to keep you away from Pinch.

What? He makes me laugh.

Den went back to the task at hand and cut beside the tough scar tissue. His knife was very sharp and parted the flesh easily. When he was done, he reached inside the oozing opening and felt something odd. As his fingers came back out, they were holding an odd rock.

He took it a few strides away and set it on the ground. He then tried the same cantrip he had on the others and it, in turn, failed. Standing once again, he pushed the white shock of hair out of his eyes and frowned.

What does it mean? Bronwynn asked.

I don’t know.

Chapter 2

The Consequences for Past Failures

It was with a heavy heart that Idrrron approached the throne room of the dokkalfar king, Korrrum. He bore terrible tidings. Not only had his kin lost the war, but he would have to explain the fate of his nephew, Xanth, the king’s only son.

After dismissing his weary forces, Idrrron solemnly set about his duty. The dark elf’s mind was awash with what would happen to him as he broke the news of the prince’s untimely death. It was his mission to keep the youth safe. How could he know Malaki would, in a heated moment, send them to the front lines? He had kept the prince safe, but would ultimately lose Xanth in battle.

Two guards flanked the double doors as he approached, their menacing halberds crossed before it. As he drew near, they both raised their weapons, giving him leave to enter. Idrrron paused before the two and looked at the long halberds. Like all dokkalfar weapons, they were elegant. They designed their long hafts to keep an opponent at a distance. They ended in an ax head that tapered to a spear-like tip. Idrrron swallowed as he considered the ax. He also dreaded what Korrrum would do when he spoke of Xanth’s end.

Steeling himself, Idrrron walked past the guards, and with both hands, he pushed one of the elaborately decorated doors inward. Under his fingers, he could feel the carved reliefs which decorated it as he shoved it inward, opening the way.

In the distance, he could see the king hunched on his throne, brooding. The