Chapter 56: Secrets
The first time he’d been in this cave, he’d stumbled through the darkness toward the same sounds of chanting as he was now, but he’d been cocky. He hadn’t thought the mage, warlock, or whatever the old man was hadn’t looked like much, and that had almost cost him a death with the giant stone golem rumbling out of the darkness.
This time, he was more circumspect, and no matter how much his anger made him want to go deeper into the pit and skip over this petty bullshit, he forced himself to wait in the darkness and let his eyes adjust as he tried to understand what was happening. Nothing was different from last time. The Black-robed man still had a scraggly beard and was still gesticulating to the roof of the cavern while he offered the gods whatever it was they wanted if only they would grant him his wish.
“You have but to grant me my boon, and I will not stop with the village. I will burn the whole kingdom to the ground in your name…” the man begged, sounding like he was ready to grovel as his tone went from haughty to pleading instantly, like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Simon shook his head. This dude did not look like an all-powerful wizard. He would have likely just shot him in the back again had it not been for his knowledge that the strange-looking rock formation across the room from him was capable of murdering him in a heartbeat.
There were many things Simon would eventually have to kill that he didn’t completely understand, like the Wyvern. He was sure he’d figure out a way eventually as he continued to learn new tricks, though. The troll was a good example of that. Simon was sure he’d never be able to beat anything so big, but burning it alive in a barn had worked just fine.
This, though, he wasn’t sure about. How in the hell was he supposed to kill five tons of limestone in the shape of a man? It didn’t exactly have any weak points he could take advantage of. He’d have to trick it off the edge of a cliff or something and see if the fall shattered it.
Or he could just skip it, he thought, hopefully. The stairs were right over there, and if he was quick and quiet, he was sure he could get past them without too much trouble. But if he took the easy way out, then he wouldn’t get a chance to steal that book, and that could be a gold mine of information if this creepy old guy really knew how to do more than just rant to the gods and beg them for eternal life or whatever he was doing.
Simon thought about it for a minute and then drew his dagger, advancing on the wizard from behind. When he reached him, he covered the old man’s mouth with his left hand while he held the knife very pointedly against his back with the right.
The golem rumbled to life as soon as the old man was threatened, but it stopped moving closer the second Simon had his hostage. It was a sensible precaution. There was no way the stone giant could crush him without smashing both of them.