Free Ritual of the Stones (Ballad of Frindoth) by Rob Donovan

at him completely shielding her view. When they withdrew,
another two took their place.
    This
continued relentlessly. Each time a pair of the Custodians withdrew, Marybeth
saw the sickening effect their impact had on the man. The shrieking only
intensified. He was now a mass of red, ribs pierced his body and one of his
eyes hung from its socket. He still held the sword, a blue viscous substance
dripping from the blade. She assumed this was from wounding the creatures, but
she saw no sign of damage on them.
    Marybeth
was sure that the man would collapse, but the two new Custodians that attacked
each time seemed to hold him up before he could fall. On several occasions, a
Custodian rushed past her, lightly knocking her as it closed in on the man to
inflict more pain.
    Finally,
the attacks ceased. What was left of the man slumped to the floor, a mass of
crushed bones, skin and blood, unrecognisable as the man that had been standing
there moments before. The scroll perfectly intact floated to the stone floor as
the Custodians resumed their position surrounding her.
    She
stared at their impassive faces for a long time, trying to gauge how they would
react. She knew she had no choice but to pick up the parchment and take her
chance with their gauntlet. The thought of suffering the same fate as the man
made her nauseous. The Custodians stood as still as statues. Quiet sentinels of
the Chamber of scrolls.
    She
tried to reach out with her mind, trying to establish a connection with the
creatures. It was no use, the man had been right, her abilities did not work in
the Marshes of Night. The table in the Chamber room stated that the Custodians
would allow the person whose intentions were worthy to borrow the scroll. Was
that her? It must be. After all, inside the Chamber, she had been permitted to
retrieve the scroll without having her arm mangled. This surely indicated she
was worthy?
    She
was not convinced. Grabbing the scroll and viewing it within the Chamber walls
was one thing, taking it away from the Marshes was something quite different.
Maybe she could just view the scroll, memorize its inscription and then return
it. She instantly dismissed this idea. If the scroll did contain some secrets
about the Ritual, then she would need it as proof to show the others in the
Order. She knew that they would not just take her word against Iskandar’s.
    She
was going to have to take her chances. Besides, even if she left the scroll,
there was no guarantee that the Custodians would let her leave the Marshes
anyway. It was better to attempt to leave with the scroll than die without
trying.
    She
retrieved her backpack and hobbled over to the scroll and picked it up. There
were a few minutes when no one moved before the Custodians once again organised
themselves so that a gap was available to walk through. So far they were
behaving in exactly the same way. That was not a good thing, she thought to
herself.
    She
approached the gap, focussing on the nearest Custodian. Her feet left the solid
ground of the cobblestones and felt the soft, wet mud. It made a squelching noise,
the only sound that could be heard. As she neared the Custodians, she noticed
two little gills on their necks. They moved smoothly, as all of them breathed
simultaneously.
    Her
stomach was churning in fear. She briefly contemplated picking up her attacker’s
sword but then thought better of it. She did not want to show any aggressive
behaviour and did not think a weapon would have been much use anyway.
    As
with the man before, the Custodians snapped around to face her when she walked
between them. She flinched at the motion. Her heart felt like it would explode
in her chest. She closed her eyes and took another step. It was at this point
the attacks had started previously. Squeezing her lips together and only daring
to look out of one eye, she took another step. The middle pair of Custodians
snapped around to face her, but that was all they did. Her heart beat even
faster.