Legends of Amacia Heart of Darkness
Chapter 43: Escape from the City of the Damned

As Argus spirited Nathanael and Doug away from Kaal Bek, the jailer led Magnus and Hanna through the bowels of the Black Fortress to a small passage in the very base of the fortress. “This passage is one of two ways out of the fortress,” he reported. “It was a tunnel I found when I first became the head jailer down here. As the head jailer, I had to know every nook and cranny of these dungeons. This passage will lead you out of the fortress and under the moat. But be aware, you mustn’t stay in the passage too long while under the moat or the heat will kill you. The passage under the moat is like an oven. When you reach it, you must move through it as quickly as you can, otherwise you’ll roast to death.”

Hanna looked at the jailer, holding out her hand. “Thank you for your help, brother,” she murmured, “You guys too. I’ll come back for you, I promise.”

The jailer shook Hanna’s hand, saying, “It’s the least we could do. All our lives we’ve lived without hope. Now, there’s hope. We’ll be here. I sincerely hope you replace a way to reverse the mutation the Emperor performed on you.”

“Me too,” Hanna replied.

“This passage will come out in a sewer drain underneath the city,” the jailer stated. “But I cannot stress the importance of not being long in the passage under the moat. You’ll see why when you go through there.”

“How much of the passage is under the moat?” Hanna asked.

“It’s about a thousand cubits underneath the moat. It is also the lowest part of the passage, apparently built when this fortress was first constructed before the lava was diverted into the moat,” the jailer replied. “When you get to it, you must run. Get through it as quickly as possible. It’s the only way to get out of here other than the front door. Good luck to you, Beowulf. Don’t let us down.”

Hanna nodded as she took a torch from one of the guards. “I’ll be back,” Hanna declared, “You have my word on it, and I have yet to go back on my word. Come on, Magnus. Tartarus awaits us.”

Magnus nodded, saying to the jailer, “Be careful, friend, and watch your back.” The jailer shook Magnus’ hand in a special handshake, and then he and the guards went back the way they came.

Hanna glanced at Magnus, saying, “Looks like it’s just you and me now, Magnus. Let’s get out of here.” Magnus headed down the passage toward the wall of the fortress carrying Hanna as she held the torch out in front to light their way. For nearly twenty minutes, the passage descended and the temperature slowly began to increase. When the heat began to become stifling, the passage made a turn and a dull red glow confronted them as they stopped. Hanna looked up at Magnus, saying, “I guess this is where the moat is.”

“Seems so,” Magnus replied as his breathing was becoming labored because of the intense heat. They looked down the passage and the walls and ceiling were glowing very softly in the dark. Littered across the floor were the desiccated skeletons of those who had not made it through the furnace.

Hanna prayed silently as she considered the fifteen hundred foot run through the furnace. “Are you ready?” she asked Magnus.

“As ready as I will ever be,” Magnus replied. “You may as well loose the torch. We don’t need it now and it’ll just slow us down.”

“All right,” Hanna replied, letting the torch drop to the floor. “Anytime you’re ready, Magnus.”

Magnus exploded into a full run. His speed astounded Hanna; dashing down oven-like corridor faster than a cheetah. As Magnus closed in on the other end two minutes later, Hanna passed out in the heat and he began becoming light-headed as the searing heat started singing and smoking his fur. His cybernetics started to melt slightly as he pushed on, knowing that stopping was not an option. A few moments later, they reached the far end of that part of the passage. Magnus made the turn and continued as the passage began to rise. The air began to become cooler the moment he made the turn. A few turns later, Magnus’ head began to spin and he stumbled, crashing back first through a wall to protect Hanna. They landed in a pool of stinking, stagnant water of the drain the jailer mentioned before leaving them. After the intense heat of the passage underneath the moat, the foul-smelling water felt quite refreshing for Magnus. He picked up Hanna and checked her for signs of life. She remained unconscious but still alive. Magnus stood with Hanna in his arms and began to stomp through the darkness of the drains underneath Amacia, heading west using his infrared vision to see in the darkness of the underground.

A day later, Magnus successfully escaped the city into the Blister Fields with Hanna unnoticed, and carefully made his way west through the fiery wasteland. She remained unconscious, which began to concern him, especially when he heard her wheezing as she breathed. They moved through a bleak, desolate landscape far harsher than any desert on the surface. The terrain proved treacherous, being very rough and mountainous filled with jagged sharp rocks. Small volcanoes spewed ash and lava nearby, sending small streams of molten rock weaving like fiery serpents through the hills and rocks. Fine ash sporadically drifted down from the sky, covering everything. Small pieces of pumice and on occasion larger lava bombs fell from the nearby growling volcanoes. Noxious gasses, including sulfur dioxide, filled the air. Very little plant life grew in this bleak nightmarescape. Occasionally, Magnus noticed a small creosote bush or cacti growing in a sheltered place.

Magnus tromped along carrying Hanna when he heard a cry from high over his head. Immediately looking up, he spied a caronadon circling. It shrieked again and soared away to the west, disappearing behind a nearby mountain. Magnus thought about it for a moment, and decided to follow the bird since he was already moving in that direction.

A half hour later as he approached the mountain the caronadon had disappeared behind, Magnus got wind of something that didn’t suit him, causing him began to search the terrain as he walked. Suddenly, out of nowhere and from every direction, a group of ten men surrounded him.

“Hold it,” one of the larger men ordered sternly, “What’re you doing out here with that woman?”

The men made a thirty-foot perimeter around Magnus as he looked at them with some amusement. “What, only ten of you?” he asked with a chuckle, “Why not give me something challenging, like fifty.”

“Answer me!” the large man ordered again even more forcefully with his sword drawn ready to fight. “What’re you doing out here with that woman?”

Magnus looked the man over and raised his left eyebrow, replying, “A Cimmerian; you certainly are far from home. What brings you to these infernal regions of the damned, barbarian?”

“It’s none of your concern, Xenian,” a feminine voice called out from behind Magnus.

Magnus’ ears perked with interest as he recognized the voice. “I know that voice,” he said as he slowly turned around to see Amelia standing on a rock, smiling. “Eris!” he rumbled, pleased to see Amelia. “It’s been a long time.”

Amelia jumped down and approached. “Magnus; it has been a long time indeed,” she chimed. Then with a stern look and tone, she asked, “What, may I ask, are you doing with her?”

Magnus looked around at the group, which had grown to twelve, and asked, “You came for her, didn’t you? You came for Beowulf.”

Amelia nodded and asked with growing annoyance, “I’ll ask you one more time: what are you doing with her out here in these wastes?” Amelia looked down at the woman in Magnus’ arms and stared, unsure as to what she was seeing. “Magnus: who is this woman?” she demanded, “She looks familiar.”

Before Magnus could answer, Hanna stirred and woke. The ash and fumes caused her to cough as she looked up at Magnus. “How long was I out?” she asked. “The last thing I really remember is becoming light-headed in the furnace underneath the moat.”

“Now’s not the time, Hanna. We have company of a hostile nature,” Magnus replied as Amelia pushed by the Cimmerian right up to Magnus to get a closer look.

Hanna looked around and began to see familiar faces, including Kahn, who was the Cimmerian that initially confronted Magnus. Then Amelia stood there looking her in the face as Magnus stood still as a statue, careful not to provoke anyone. “Amelia? What in the world are you doing here?” Hanna asked weakly as Amelia stared into her eyes.

“Who are you, sister?” Amelia asked softly, seeing the terrible wounds on her that were beginning to fester. “You look like someone I know.”

“Amelia, don’t you recognize me?” Hanna whispered. “It’s me, Hannibal. If you don’t believe me, use that telepathy of yours to make sure.”

Amelia gasped in astonishment, touching Hanna on the temple, making a quick telepathic search of her identity. Amelia’s mouth wagged open in horror and amazement. “Oh, my god, it is you, Hannibal. What in the name of Fate happened to you?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Hanna replied, straining to speak. “I was mutated by the Emperor into a woman. But I made him regret it.”

“Who is this woman?” Kahn asked.

“It’s Hannibal,” Amelia announced to her team, the horror of what she saw straining her tone. “He was damned and mutated by the Emperor into this woman you see here. I still can’t believe my eyes. He did this to you and you still survived?” Amelia’s team rumbled in astonishment as they pressed in to see, whispering about the ancient prophecies.

“Barely,” Hanna whispered slowly. “You have no idea what I’ve seen and endured. I had to adapt in order to survive. If it hadn’t been for Magnus, I’d be dead on the Arena floor and my head would most likely be in the Emperor’s trophy case.” After a pause, she asked, “What’re you doing here, Amelia?”

“We were looking for you, of course,” Amelia replied. “Why is Magnus here?”

Hanna looked up at Magnus with a faint smile, saying, “Because he’s my friend. He rescued me from the Arena after I killed Hades. His life is forfeit, just like mine now because of his actions. The Emperor wants his head as much as mine now. I would have never gotten this far without him.”

Amelia gazed at Magnus as the rest of the group gathered closer. “Is this true?” she asked him.

Magnus nodded, saying, “It’s true. Hanna has allies inside the Black Fortress who made possible her escape.”

“But you’re a Xenian!” Liu retorted, ready to kill with his hand on his sword. “I watched your kind butcher my people.”

Magnus sighed and replied solemnly, “Yes, but not by choice. What you don’t know is that the Xenians that massacred your people are nothing but clones of me and three others. I’m one of the four prototype bio-organic weapons the Cadre used to create the army that decimated you people. I’m not like them. I have a mind of my own and the will to use it. My presence here with Hanna is proof of that. The clones of us are machines programmed to destroy anything the Emperor desires. If you doubt my word, here is the proof. Amelia, please take Hanna. She’s gravely injured and has no strength left.” He gently handed Hanna to Amelia, who cradled her carefully. “I brought this man-turned-woman by the Emperor’s rage out of Amacia without knowing where to take her,” Magnus stated, “All I said was that I would get her back to her friends. She chose this direction, not me. By all that is holy: who would have known that you were going to be here waiting for her.”

Hanna’s head buzzed and swam as the infections in her wounds tampered with her equilibrium. Hanna looked at Amelia’s team, saying, “Please put your weapons away, my friends. Magnus is one of us whether you like it or not. If it hadn’t been for him, I would have never gotten out of there.”

Ned, Sam, and Cracko walked up to them. Ned stared, asking, “Is that really you, Hannibal?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Hanna murmured after a surge of pain made her grimace. “You’re definitely not seeing me at my best right now.”

“No shit!” Sam replied, “The Emperor did this to you without asking?”

“Yes,” Hanna replied, “He did it out of spite, thinking that turning me into a woman would neutralize me. I proved that bastard wrong in the Arena, which is why I’m so mangled.”

Cracko felt compassion for Hanna and touched her on the arm. “I feel for you, Hannibal. No one should have a forced sex change like this. But even so, you still look like shit.”

Hannibal smiled a little and said, “Thanks for the moral support, Cracko. You too would look like shit if you had been through what I’ve been through.”

“I can only imagine in my worst nightmares what you’ve endured,” Cracko replied.

“Hannibal, where’s Selina?” Ned asked bluntly.

Hanna sighed, saying with some grief, “She’s still a prisoner, but fortunately, hasn’t been altered like me. Don’t worry. I have someone special watching out for her and the others in the Harem where she is being kept.”

Amelia’s face soured as she remembered her stay in the Harem. “Has she been mistreated yet?” Amelia asked bluntly.

Hanna nodded, replying, “Some, but not on the level I have.” Gazing up into Amelia’s eyes, Hanna whispered, “I’ve experienced the sex floor first-hand in a clone woman avatar, Amelia.”

Amelia gasped and gently hugged Hanna’s wounded form, rocking her. “Oh, gods no,” she moaned. “You poor man; he did that to you?”

“Yes,” Hanna whispered hoarsely, “Even Selina got a taste of it, but not on the level or intensity that I got. She was even beaten and electrocuted by the Emperor when he brought her to see me die in the Arena. Presently, she’s chained, but in the company of friends. There are about fifty of them in there and they have adopted her into their family.”

Hanna scanned the faces of Amelia’s team and saw Joel. “Joel, did you have a twin sister?” Hanna asked as she fought to keep awake.

Joel stepped forward, saying, “A long time ago; she was lost when the Emperor overran Kadishar and slaughtered my family. Why do you ask?”

Hanna motioned him closer and grabbed on to his arm, looking him dead in the eye. “Her name was Tasha, was it not?” she asked him.

Joel’s face became puzzled as he answered, “Yes, it was. What’re you saying?”

Hanna smiled slightly, saying, “She’s in the Harem with Selina. I saw her myself when I was briefly taken to the Harem after being mutated.”

Joel backed away in disbelief. “No. Impossible!” he balked. “It’s been at least twenty-five cycles since she was lost.”

“Not impossible,” Magnus said evenly. “She’s there. I know. I have seen her there myself the few times I had permission to go in there.”

Joel stumbled at the news, having to lean on Liu and Sam. He looked at the ground as a fine rain of ash fell around them, shaking his head, saying, “My sister is alive?”

Hanna nodded, saying, “Yes, Joel. She lives as surely as I sit here in Amelia’s arms.”

Joel walked around with his weapon down like someone who had just awakened out of a dream. “She lives. My sister lives,” he whispered as it began to sink in on him what he had been told.

“And more importantly, she knows you’re alive as well. Both Selina and I told her,” Hanna added as her face wrinkled with pain.

“How do you know this?” Kahn asked bluntly. “I’ve heard of many ways the Emperor spreads lies. She could have been a clone fake.”

“She’s no fake, Kahn,” Hanna replied with a brief spurt of strength. “Both Selina and I are telepathic and we sensed who she was. She’s the real Tasha. I’d stake my soul on it.” Turning to Joel, Hanna added, “Don’t fret, Joel; your sister will not be a prisoner there much longer. I fully intend on going back for Selina and whoever else wants to come out of that terrible place even if I have to go back in this form. I’m not going to leave them there any longer than can be helped. They’re my sisters. They helped me deal with the atrocities performed on me that no one should ever endure. I owe them big time.” A surge of pain raced up her leg and spine. She gritted her teeth and asked, “Does anyone have any water? I really need a drink.”

Amelia looked up at Magnus, saying, “Take her, Magnus. You’re stronger than I am. I can’t hold her up much longer.”

Magnus quickly scooped Hanna up out of Amelia’s arms, cradling her as if she were his own daughter. To make access easier, he knelt down as Sam quickly produced a water skin he had with him and brought it forward.

“Here,” Sam said to Amelia as she took it. Amelia helped Hanna take a drink. As she did, she reached out telepathically and looked deeper, seeing Hanna’s mind was weak and very fatigued. She also noticed the personality of Hanna working to protect Hannibal from harm. “Slowly Hanna,” Amelia warned Hanna as she drank a little, and then coughed, spitting it out.

Hanna looked her in the eye and said weakly, “I’m dying, Amelia. I have nothing left. I’m done.”

Amelia looked her in the eye and said, “Magnus; hold her still.” She removed her gloves and began rubbing her hands together.

When Hanna saw that, she pleaded in a raspy whisper, “Don’t do it, Amelia. I’m too far gone. Don’t risk yourself.”

“Hush Hanna; I know what I am doing,” Amelia replied sternly. Before Hanna could open her mouth again, Amelia placed her hands on either side of her head. Hanna flinched visibly and howled as her mind was set on fire. Amelia looked at her with most intense look she had ever given anyone; tears flowing freely as she telepathically witnessed the tortures Hanna endured. For a few moments, Hanna writhed in agony as the fire spread from her brain to her chest, and then to the rest of her body. Then she passed out completely.

When Hana passed out, Amelia released her with a groan and staggered back, her knees buckling. Aragon caught her and asked, “Are you all right?”

Amelia stood there a moment with a look of complete surprise on her face, trembling all over. “Yes, I think so. Thanks for asking, Aragon,” she replied.

“What did you just do?” Sam asked bluntly.

“I stabilized her condition.” Amelia replied as her strength returned. “I wasn’t able to heal her like she should be because of how much damage she has suffered. You have no idea of how badly she’s been tortured. We need to get her to Acheron and quick. Magnus, bring Hanna. We need to get away from here before we are discovered.”

Magnus rose to his feet with Hanna in his arms as Amelia began to lead them around the hill. “They must have been pretty desperate to go to Acheron,” Magnus commented. “That place has been cursed since the Kragonar. It’s a necropolis of the damned ancient dead.”

Ned glanced at the feline Xenian and said, “Well, we didn’t have much choice when we found out that the Emperor was coming to wipe out every living thing in Arionath. Acheron was Hannibal’s idea.”

“How are we going to get there?” Magnus asked. “Tartarus is not the kind of place you cross on foot. I know; I spent many cycles roaming those infernal wastes.”

Amelia chuckled wearily, still drained and exhausted from assisting Hanna. As they rounded a large boulder on the side of the hill, she replied, “Always the realist, eh Magnus?”

Magnus grunted and replied, “Yes, Eris. And I see you’re still as chaotic and unpredictable as ever.”

Amelia laughed, saying, “Well then, let me not disappoint you. Lo, we came prepared with transportation.” As she spoke, they came upon eight caronadons milling about. The largest one...the one that Amelia had ridden on, sat perched on a boulder and immediately noticed the Xenian’s approach. It shrieked, getting the others attention. The giant bird surprised Magnus as he carried Hanna. The large caronadon jumped down and approached the Xenian menacingly. Amelia moved quickly to intercept the bird. When it saw Magnus carrying Hanna, it stopped as Amelia got between them. It looked at Amelia intensely. “It’s all right,” Amelia insisted. “He’s a friend. He saved her from the Emperor.” The caronadon stepped forward and looked the Xenian in the eye for a moment, and then looked at Hanna, and then back at the Xenian.

The caronadon leader chirped authoritatively and turned, calling to the other birds. Amelia touched the caronadon as it sat down so they could mount. Looking the bird in the eye Amelia nodded and said to Magnus, “Give Hanna to me when I get on.” She mounted the bird’s back and Magnus handed Hanna to her. “What about his ride?” she asked the bird, referring to Magnus. “We can’t leave him here. He’s one of us now.” The bird chirped and another smaller male caronadon walked over beside Magnus and settled down so he could ride. “Cepheus, ride with Magnus,” Amelia ordered.

Cepheus watched Magnus suspiciously, and then mounted the caronadon. “Come on, Magnus,” he ordered. “Climb up behind me and no funny stuff. These birds can sense what you’re thinking and will dump you quicker than the Emperor’s temper if they believe that you’re danger to them or us.”

Magnus eyed Cepheus soberly and said sincerely so all could hear, “I have no intention of being either. Hanna’s the Prophesied One...the Last Caverias. My place is at her side and at her command. Otherwise, I would have left her to die in the Arena.” The bird chirped as Magnus climbed behind Cepheus, who found it a bit unnerving to have an eight and a half foot Xenian who had been for so long their enemy sitting behind him as an ally.

In minutes, the team mounted their rides and the lead caronadon screamed, taking off. The others called too and followed their leader. Amelia held on to Hanna as they rose into the sky over the Blister Fields, rising above the belching volcanoes, heading northwestward into the Mountains of Fornax and the lands of Tartarus. In minutes, they reached an altitude of almost two miles. Amelia stroke Hanna’s head and hair as they flew on. “Hang on, my dear friend. Don’t die on us, not now that you are free,” she cooed in Hanna’s ear as they passed over the jagged mountains of Fornax in the eastern reaches of Tartarus. She looked out over the bleak and forbidding landscape as her long hair flowed in the breeze. The mountains were sharp and steep, virtually impassable. Volcanic cones dotted the mountains, spewing ash and lava. Canyons of razor sharp rock snaked through the mountains for almost four leagues to the west where the mountains were replaced by the desolate wastes of Tartarus.

A constant blistering wind blew out of the Fornax down onto the wastes. Giant dunes topping three hundred feet in height were blown by the searing winds out of the Fornax, stretching off into the distance, literally moving like waves on an ocean of sand. In some places, rocks and ruins peeked out of the dunes briefly only to be buried again in the sand in a matter of hours by the winds from the Furnace of the Fornax. Amelia looked to the west, and like an evil mirage in the distance, she saw the terrible city of Kartoom: home and headquarters of the Cadre. In random places, old, worn mountain peaks towered over the dunes like old shipwrecks. Amelia looked to the southwest from her perch atop the caronadon two miles up, seeing an immense cloud of sand moving slowly to the north: a giant sandstorm. It very quickly covered the southern horizon as it moved north, burying anything and everything in its path. She sighed as the hot, arid, noxious air of Tartarus blew in her face. “Soon, we’ll be safe,” she whispered, “and very far from here.” Amelia hated being anywhere near Tartarus because of the terrible torment the Cadre had inflicted upon her so long ago.