Legends of Amacia: Mysteries of Tiamat
The Legendary Infernal Gates

Harrylooked at the picture Hannibal had just given him with a sinking feeling. Thepicture revealed a colossal post-and-lintel gate fifty feet wide by ninety feethigh in the cavern wall with the gate itself and the gateposts carved withancient archaic runes and hieroglyphs. Either side of the gate stood twoenormous stone drakens one hundred feet tall carved with exquisite detail thatstood rearing up on their hind legs with their wings spread provocatively. Thecolossi looked down with a ferocious expression and gaze focused on the groundin front of the gate, teeth bared and claws ready. Each draken also appeared tobe wielding a weapon of some sort in one clawed hand: a massive staff with acrystal head, which was raised, prepared to strike. Human and animal bones layscattered around the gate with piles of human and animal skulls set up betweenthe stone drakens’ feet as if it were an offering. At the feet of these drakencolossi and between them in front of the gate, lay what appeared to be the bodyof an unknown creature. It had great curved horns on its hideous head, hugewings like a bat, and clawed fists the size of watermelons.

Harrylooked on and his face fell. “What in heaven’s name is that lying on the groundbetween the statues?” he asked. “This is not what I think it is, is it?”

Hannibalsat back and sighed deeply, his face becoming very troubled and cold. “If youare thinking that’s a real demon, I must agree with you on that,” Hannibalstated.

“A demon?”Harry repeated, not believing his ears. “You have got to be joking. Demonscan’t cross over into our world like this, can they?”

“Unfortunately,they can,” Hannibal admitted coldly, “if the right circumstances exist. Do youknow what you’re looking at there in that picture?”

“Notreally,” Harry answered. “It appears to be some kind of gate that’s beingguarded by these stone dragons, along with as many bones as your picture of theHall of Drakens showed. It seems to me that this place really is a dead end.”He looked closer at the gateway and noticed the writing on it and thegateposts. “It also has some of that strange writing on it. What is this,Hannibal? And don’t lie to me about it either.”

“I’d neverlie to you about something so serious,” Hannibal replied. “If what the legendssay is true, then what you see there are the fabled the gates to theunderworld, or hell; whatever you want to call it. Remember when I told youabout the legends of Sumatra surrounding Tiamat; about the drakens guarding thegates to hell?” Harry nodded as Hannibal continued, “Well, this gate, whateverit is, must be the reason for the myth. I’ve been in some bad places before,but this one takes the cake. It’s truly an infernal gate as far as I’mconcerned. The evil there was so thick you could taste it. Whether or not helltruly exists on the other side of that gate is still up for debate. One thing Ican tell you is this. The place was infested with creatures like the one yousee in that picture; dozens of them of all shapes and sizes. Because of theother denizens we encountered in higher levels of the temple, we startedexploring in heavily armed teams of ten. That thing, that demon, attacked uswith its cohorts the moment we entered that cursed place.” Hannibal paused fora moment, gathering his thoughts.

“You’resure it was a demon?” Harry asked.

“Absolutely,”Hannibal replied grimly. “It was a powerful demon prince that had somehowmanifested on our plane with his cohorts. We were in the fight for our verylives and souls when we dared to step foot into that cave of horrors. Let metell you how it started when we ventured past the Hall of Drakens.” He thenstarted into a detailed account of the Infernal Gates.

Hannibal,who bore full combat gear that included a .308 caliber H&K 91 with agrenade launcher mounted on it, several thirty round magazines in his Kevlarflak jacket, a bandolier of grenades, and a large machete strapped to his back,led his heavily-armed team of ten down a tunnel from the Hall of Drakens. Onehundred feet from the Hall of Drakens, the passage began descending steeply ina spiral manner, the floor becoming an enormous flight of steps. Thetemperature rose dramatically the farther they went. Dan and Jerry flankedHannibal as he led the team down the steps.

“It’sgetting hotter,” Jerry observed. “Why’s that?”

“We couldbe near an active lava tube,” Hannibal murmured, sweat beading on his brow ashe kept an eagle eye on his surroundings. “This place is inside a dormantvolcano, Jerry.”

“That maybe the case,” Dan intruded. “But I don’t think the heat is the problem here. Ashot as it is in here, my blood is turning to ice. Something is very wrong here,Hannibal. I feel like I’m about to step foot into hell itself.”

“Oh getreal,” one of the team members called out. “Hannibal’s right. We must be nearthe lava tubes. Just because it’s hot in here doesn’t mean we’re walking intohell where demons torment lost souls. Such a place doesn’t exist in thisworld.”

“Don’t mockDan’s insight, Gary,” Hannibal snapped. “He’s feeling the same evil I am. Thisplace has an evil aura about it that’s very unsettling. Why, I don’t know. Butthere’s definitely something wrong about this tunnel. I’m getting the distinctimpression we were never supposed to come in here.”

“If that’sthe case, then why do we keep going?” another team member named Brandon askedin a concerned tone. “Can’t we just back out of here and seal this tunnel?”

“I would dojust that except for the glaring fact that this may not be the only way downhere,” Hannibal stated. “If there is a hazard down here, we have an obligationto the others to replace out what it is and neutralize it. At the very least, weneed to replace out if this is the only way down here. I suspect there’s anothercave at the end of this tunnel. We need to know if that cave has any otherexits we need to know about.”

“Iunderstand,” Brandon replied. “But it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I feellike I’m walking into a trap.”

“Samehere,” Hannibal stated as he edged down the stairs. “But if there’s anothermonster spider or scorpion down here lying in wait for us, then we must destroyit for the safety of our friends above us.”

“I didn’tsay I wouldn’t back you,” Brandon retorted. “I’m with you. What I meant wasthat I don’t like it when I feel like this.”

Hannibalcast a wry grin at Brandon. “You’re a good man, Brandon,” Hannibal commended.“I knew what you meant. Now, I think it’s best we silence the chatter. Ifthere’s a monster down there, it’s best we not let it know we’re here just yet.Everyone, be on your guard.”

Brandonsmiled as he followed Hannibal down the huge staircase with the others. Tenminutes later, the colossal spiral staircase ended in a level tunnel thatstretched for another six hundred yards. The heat had become a stifling onehundred twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit with the air shimmering and thepassageway seeming lit from the far end by an eerie, reddish light. Hannibalstopped the team by holding up his fist. “Damn it’s hot in here,” he murmured.“We’ll take five here. Hydrate yourselves.”

“What isthat light from the end of the tunnel?” Jerry asked as he drank from hiscanteen.

“I don’tknow,” Hannibal replied, mopping the sweat out of his eyes with his sleeveafter sipping on his canteen of water. “But I’m really wired right now.Something is out there that’s extraordinarily dangerous. I know it.”

“Then let’skill it and get out of here before we roast in here,” Gary called out. “I don’trelish spending any more time in this hotbox than I have to.”

“I hearyou, Gary,” Hannibal stated. “Let’s go have a look at what’s causing thatlight. Be on your guard, guys. Let’s go.” Hannibal took up the lead again withDan and Jerry to his right and left and the others following closely.

In lessthan three minutes, the team reached the end of the tunnel that emptied into ahuge irregularly shaped cavern that glowed softly from small pools of lavascattered across its thousand-yard length. Blue fire blazed in some of thepools, adding to the hellish look of the place. The roof of the cavern rosenearly six hundred feet in height while the cave spanned three hundred yardsacross. Stalactites, stalagmites, and colossal columns lay scattered across thecavern, giving the cave a labyrinthine appearance. Flowstone cascaded down thewalls and some of the columns while large crystals grew everywhere. At the farend of the cave rose an enormous gateway fifty feet wide by ninety feet tall.Arcane writing covered the gate, gatepost, and the arched lentil at the top. Toeither side of the gate stood two enormous stone drakens with giant rubyeyes...sculptures carved with exquisite detail. The drakens were rearing up ontheir hind legs with their wings spread provocatively. The colossi looked downwith a ferocious expression and gaze focused on the ground in front of thegate, teeth bared and claws ready. The ruby eyes of the statues flickered inthe light and heat, making the statues seemingly come alive. Each statue alsoappeared to be wielding a weapon of some sort in one clawed hand: a massive staffwith a crystal head, which was raised, prepared to strike what lay in front ofthem.

Hannibalstopped and gawked at the cavern. “Oh my lord,” he whispered, wiping the sweatthat ran into his eyes. “What in heaven’s name is this? This place shouldn’teven be here. It can’t be here.”

“I knewit,” Jerry breathed. “We’ve found our way into hell itself.”

“This isn’thell,” Dan corrected. “But this place must be about as close to hell as anymortal would want to come. What is this place, Hannibal?”

“I don’tknow,” Hannibal admitted. “I never expected to see anything like this way downhere. Come on, we must check this out. I know it’s difficult in this heat, butstay alert. I’m beginning to think we may not be alone in this miniature hell.”He then started towards the draken gate. Ten paces into the cavern, Hannibalstopped. “Hold on a minute,” he stated. “Dan; I want you, Brandon, Chris, andQuang to guard this exit while I take everyone else to check out those statuesand the gate. Keep on guard and give us cover if we encounter something wecan’t handle.”

“Got it,”Dan replied. “Don’t take too long. We can’t take this heat too much longer.”

“I’m wellaware of that,” Hannibal stated. “Take cover and watch for us. If you can replacesome high ground, take it.”

“Yes, sir,”Dan answered.

Speaking tothe rest of the team, Hannibal ordered, “Come on guys. Let’s document this replaceand get out of here before we roast alive in here.”

As Hanniballed the rest of the team out into the cave, Dan, Brandon, Chris, and Quang tookup sniper positions around the cave exit.

Hannibalmoved forward with great caution, eyeing every shadow and hidden spot withsuspicion. “Spread out a little,” he told his troop, “but don’t lose sight ofeach other. We don’t want to provide a good target for whatever is in here withus.”

“You don’tthink we’re alone, do you?” Jerry asked, searching everything around him fortrouble.

“I’m afraidnot,” Hannibal admitted. “I’m sensing something here I haven’t felt in years;something dreadfully familiar and incredibly evil.”

An alienchattering and clucking started echoing softly from the cavern around them,causing further unease in Hannibal and his team. “What is that?” Gary askedfearfully.

“I don’tknow,” one of the team members, Tyler, replied. “I certainly don’t want to meetup with whatever it is.”

“Shhh,”Hannibal hissed. “Quiet. We’re not alone here.”

In threeminutes, Hannibal and his team had reached the far end of the cave where thegate and draken statues stood. They looked up at the colossi and the gate withgreat fear. “Hannibal, my blood has turned to ice,” Jerry whispered. “We shouldleave this place. Nothing good will come from staying here.”

“I’m withyou,” Hannibal stated. “This place is so evil that I doubt my own sanity. Thisplace is alive and wants to destroy us. Gary, take some pictures of the gateand sculptures so we can get out of this deathtrap.”

Gary pulledout a camera and stated snapping pictures. When the flash went off, the lightrevealed a horde of unearthly creatures lurking in the shadows. A cacophonouschorus of shrieks arose from the creatures as a twenty-foot tall monster fromthe depths of hell itself attacked Gary.

“Gary, lookout!” Hannibal warned, swinging his machine gun around and opening fire on thehorned demon that ripped Gary’s head off with a single swipe of its huge clawedhands. The other creatures set upon the rest of the team, taking out two morebefore the other team members briefly scattered and replaceing defensive positionsfrom which to fight. Gunfire echoed through the huge cavern as the giantcreature that killed Gary took sight on Hannibal.

Its sixeyes narrowed as a snarl arose from its elongated, tooth-filled snout.Spreading its giant bat wings in a provocative display, the monster spoke,pointing its clawed finger dripping with blood at Hannibal. “You should nothave come here, Beowulf!” it snarled. “This gate belongs to us and we shallopen it despite your meddling. Master Dezarcus has ordered it. Now die for yourtreason to us and for your interference in our plans!”

Hannibalpaled when the name Dezarcus came out of the mouth of the demon. When itcharged, Hannibal dodged the monster’s claws and enormous horns while unloadinghis entire clip of phosphorus rounds into the demon’s chest. It staggered backand roared, jumping at Hannibal again, who launched a phosphorus fragmentationgrenade directly into the chest of the monster. It knocked the beast back,having burned a hole through the creature. Two more grenades came from behindHannibal, striking the monster while in midair, tearing off its wing and legs.Sulfurous yellow blood spewed from the creature as it fell between the twodraken statues. The moment the creature fell, the other creatures stoppedattacking and backed off into the shadows.

Hanniballooked around with great concern, wheezing and becoming light-headed from theheat and the skirmish. “Whose left?” he called out, seeing Jerry and one otherteammate, a Native American man named Kuruk backing up to Hannibal’s position.

“Just us, Hannibal,”Kuruk declared, bleeding profusely from his left arm where something had clawedhim. “Tyler and the others were taken by these fiends, whatever they are.They’re faster than a striking rattlesnake.”

“But look,”Jerry said. “They’ve backed off. Why would they do that? They had us.”

“Because weapparently took out their leader,” Hannibal answered. “Listen at themchattering. They must be deciding whether to finish the job or not. We have toget out of here.”

“I’m allfor that,” Jerry declared.

Hannibalpulled a camera out of his flak jacket pocket and took pictures of the monsterand the gateway with the draken statues. Each time the flash went off it showedmore creatures gathering behind their fallen leader. When Hannibal took thelast picture, his blood turned to ice as he saw another monstrous creatureleaning over the fallen one. This monster seemed to draw all shadows anddarkness to his form, in essence becoming a giant shadow twenty-five feet inheight. It growled as Hannibal took the last picture; its eyes burning likelamps under a shroud of darkness that cloaked only its upper head. The lowerportion of its head seemed to emerge from the shadows of the darkness revealinga very reptilian mouth on an elongated snout. It snarled at Hannibal as itrose, showing a mouthful of needle-like teeth. The thing locked eyes withHannibal for just a moment and recognized him. Glaring at Hannibal with thefires and hate of hell in its eyes, the thing roared “Get them and bringBeowulf to me or I’ll have all your heads!”

Knowing hewas outmatched, Hannibal turned to Jerry and Kuruk and ordered, “This creatureis beyond our capabilities. Run!”

Jerry andKuruk saw the shadow fiend pointing with a hideous reptilian claw at them andbacked away in a hurry...Hannibal pushing them as he reloaded his machine gunand grenade launcher. When the smaller creatures started swarming after them,Hannibal opened fire, covering the retreat of his friends. In seconds, Dan,Brandon, Chris, and Quang had emerged from their sniper’s positions, providingcover fire too. Just before moving around a column, Hannibal looked back at thegate, seeing the creatures feasting upon the bodies of his teammates. Hanniballaunched one last grenade at them before fleeing the scene with the remnant ofhis team, heading back up the tunnel towards the Hall of Drakens.

Hannibalpaused in the account, his face pale from the horrors he recollected. Atroubled sigh escaped his lips. Seeing Hannibal reaction to the account, Harryasked, “Are you okay, Hannibal?”

“Yeah, I’mokay,” Hannibal replied softly. “I get a little shaken when I tell that story.The emotional damage from it has been slow to heal. I lost some very goodfriends to those demons.”

“You’resure those were demons?” Harry asked.

“Yes,”Hannibal answered coldly. “I know they were without a doubt. How they managedto cross into our world and gain a physical form troubles me greatly. I’vedealt with demons before, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen them on ourside of the veil like this without someone controlling them. I’m sure it’s whythat place had me so stirred up.”

“Did youretrieve your fallen teammates?” Harry asked softly.

“No,”Hannibal said flatly. “It was a rout. By the time we had retreated to thecavern entrance, the denizens of that infernal place had regrouped and startedto move in. We fled for our lives. The last thing I remember seeing in thathell was several of the fiends ripping our fallen friends to pieces and eatingthem. Now do you have some idea of why I said there are fouler things thangiant spiders and scorpions in the deep places of the Earth? We fled to theHall of Drakens where we blocked the entrance to the lower level by blowing upthe passage just beyond the doors at the Hall of Drakens. I have no doubt thatwe stood at the very gates of hell in that place. Who knows what othermonstrosities are bound on the other side of that gate. One interesting noteabout the gate itself: it seemed to be locked and barred from the outside, ourside and the two drakens looked like they were facing the gate, almost likethey were guarding it, trying to keep whatever was on the other side in there.”

Harry’sgazed never moved from the picture while Hannibal explained. “Yes, the pictureshows it. They do seem to be acting as guards, sentinels there to checkanything that would try to come out of there,” Harry answered. “Hey, what’sthis?” He looked very closely at the picture, and then got up, going to a deskthat sat in the corner and procuring a magnifying glass. He returned to hischair, sat down, and examined the picture through the magnifying glass.“There’s something here,” he declared. “I don’t rightly know what it is, butthere is definitely something going on here.” He handed the picture and themagnifier to Hannibal, instructing, “Look there real close in the lower righthand side, near the body of the demon.”

Hannibalfocused intently at the area Harry mentioned. His gaze intensified and hisexpression fell as his blood ran cold with the memory of the terrible event.“What is it?” Harry asked in a concerned tone after seeing Hannibal’sexpression.

Hanniballooked up from the picture, his face pale as death with a matching expression.With a deep sigh, he slumped back in his chair and took a long draught from hisglass. His complexion did not improve. Harry began to be very concerned. “Whatis it?” he repeated.

The pictureshowed under magnification another menacing being kneeling down next to thebody, looking directly at the camera. The being seemed to draw the shadows toitself and seemed to be physically cloaked in darkness. Only a vague outline ofhis body showed up. Shadows partially concealed its face. The only things thatshowed in the picture was its lower face, which seemed to be very reptilian inmanner and its eyes, which seemed to glow scarlet, like two glowing embers in afire, full of hatred.

“It’s him,”Hannibal finally answered in a deeply stressed tone, “the one that ordered theothers to attack. It’s something I hoped I would never see again. That, myfriend, is an honest to God demon; one I’ve encountered elsewhere.”

“You meanto say that you’ve seen that monstrosity before?” Harry asked, totallyastounded at the revelation. “Where; How?”

“That’s astory I’ll get to in a minute,” Hannibal returned with a little more composure.“Just be aware that I’m well acquainted with that infernal beast. It’s acreature of pure evil that uses the shadows to hide its movements and identity.As you will remember what I said earlier, it wasn’t until this monster showedup that the rest of that horde decided to attack again. I remember when I tookthe picture. The flash lit up the place and when the light got to the being, itseemed to be unable to penetrate the darkness around that monster. We wereslowly backing away all the while. When the camera came down, I saw it standingover what I assumed he considered a fallen comrade. The beast stood a goodtwenty-five feet tall and emanated raw power and evil. It glared at me and Ibriefly hesitated, locking eyes with it. There was immediate recognition onboth of our parts. We both knew who we were seeing, at which time it smiled thewickedest smile I’ve ever seen, and then roared, telling its friends to attackus. That’s when we fled. I laid down cover fire while Jerry and Kurukretreated. Dan, Brandon, Chris, and Quang covered our escape with suppressingfire as the creatures swarmed after us. The last thing I saw before breakinginto a full retreat was the monsters feasting on our fallen friends while thebig one, the one in this picture, stood there pointing at us like a generalsending out his troops. I also saw the walls and floors crawling with what Ithought were hundreds of the smaller creatures coming after us from theshadows. We barely escaped that infernal place.” Hannibal paused for a moment,gathering his thoughts.

Harry,Mary, and Dennis sat there in awed quiet as Hannibal continued after the pause.“We outraced them back to the Hall of Drakens,” Hannibal declared. “Theentrance to the lower level had a great door that we opened in order to gainaccess. Once through the doors, we retrieve two of our three-pound plasticexplosive mines and I went back in seventy-five yards, attached them to thewalls, and armed the bombs with a proximity fuse. By time I did that, I couldhear the creatures coming up the passage. I ran and we sealed the doors,setting off the bomb by remote control. The whole place shook and rocks fellfrom the ceiling. The doors buckled from the force of the explosion. Why theblast didn’t blow the doors off its hinges, I’ll never know. However, the doorsdid remain shut. After the rumble had subsided, I tried to open one of thedoors but was only able to open it enough to seen the aftermath of theexplosion. The passage to the lower level was completely sealed by a cave-in.It was at that point that we relaxed. Everything we encountered in the upperlevels we were able to handle.” Hannibal sighed, gazing at them in a relievedway. “Now I’ll tell you how I know what that beast was,” he stated.

Hanniballooked at Dennis, who was sitting quietly and beginning to look a bit weary.“How are you holding up, Dennis?” Hannibal asked. “I’m not scaring you, am I?”

Dennisshook his head no. “No, no. I’m not scared,” he replied; fatigue showing in histone and face.

“But it’sgetting a bit late,” Harry said. “And you’ve got school tomorrow.”

“But I’mnot tired!” Dennis tried to protest as he yawned.

“Seems tome you are, yawning like that,” Hannibal retorted with a cackle.

“Go to bed,son,” Harry ordered. “We’ll let you know what you miss tomorrow.”

Dennislooked around and yawned again. “All right, Dad,” he conceded in a defeatedtone, walking to Hannibal and giving him a hug.

“See youlater, Dennis,” Hannibal murmured. “And remember, there isn’t anything outthere that God doesn’t control. Even demon monsters must obey the Lord. Goodnight.” Dennis plodded away into the house, going to his bedroom.

“I’d bettergo and check on him,” Mary said. Harry nodded in agreement as Mary rose,following Dennis.

“You have agood boy there, Harry,” Hannibal complimented. “Not many boys like that outthere.”

“Yes, he’sa good boy though sometimes he can be a handful,” Harry answered.

“I’m sureof that,” Hannibal returned. Just then, Mary came back in the living room and satdown.

“He’s inbed now. It’s been a long day for him,” Mary said.

“That’sgood. Now that he’s gone to bed, I’ll tell you about the thing you pointed outin the picture. I thought maybe what I’m about to say may have been a littlemuch for Dennis,” Hannibal declared. “For starters, the thing in the picturehas a name.”

“A name?”Harry asked in shocked manner.

“Yes, aname,” Hannibal replied coldly, pausing before explaining.