“Steep?” questioned the priest.
“You may die once you enter the Pit of Death,” the old man said quietly. “Or you may be cured and allowed to live a healthy life once again. The price to enter is all of your worldly belongings.”
“All of my belongings?” Vand balked a little too loudly.
The customers in the mud pit looked to see who was talking, and the old man guided Vand towards the rear of the room and away from the others.
“If you die,” shrugged the old man, “you will have no need of your belongings. If you are healed, we will tear the paper up, and it will have cost you nothing. What good are belongings to a dead man?”
“It sounds like a way to make yourself wealthy at the expense of others,” snarled the priest. “I should have you shut down and run out of the city.”
“I suppose that you have the power to do so,” shrugged the old man, “but then your life will be lost. Look at you. You are practically dead already. I am surprised that you even made it here without help. I will get the contract for you to sign. If you don’t wish to live any longer, then leave and have us closed down.”
The old man turned and left. Vand watched him leave, his mind filled with fury. He seethed as he rolled the man’s words through his mind. No one dared to talk to the High Priest of Kaltara in the manner the old man had. He would make that man sorry for his impertinence. He would indeed have the shop closed. Yet, Vand’s feet did not move towards the stairs. In a few moments, the old man returned with a contract. He handed it to the priest. Vand snarled as he grabbed the contract. His hands moved to tear the paper in two, but he did not have the strength to do so.
“I know the decision is a hard one,” the old man said encouragingly, “but there really is no choice in the matter. Only the Pit of Death can save you now. I doubt you even have the strength to ascend the stairs. Sign the contract.”
Vand stared at the contract, his mind refusing to comprehend the words written upon it. Finally he scrawled his name on the contract and shoved it into the old man’s hands.
“What happens next?” asked the priest.
“I cannot say,” smiled the old man as he led the priest around the corner of the cave and into a short corridor with a door at the end of it. “You enter through this door. That is all that I can tell you. Go quickly while you are still able to walk.”
The old man opened the door and held it. Vand peered into the dark space beyond and saw only an extremely small room, barely large enough for a person to stand it.
“What foolishness is this?” scowled Vand. “You want me to stand in a closet?”
“You cannot comprehend it yet,” assured the old man. “Enter it quickly.”
Vand thought about grabbing the old man and squeezing the life out of him, but he knew that he was too weak to even attempt it. Obediently, the priest walked into the closet, and the old man immediately shut the door.
Vand stood in the darkness waiting for something to happen, but nothing happened. His rage grew by the second as he realized that he had just been tricked out of his belongings. Suddenly, fear coursed though the priest’s body as he realized that the contract was only valid if he died. Fearful of the thought that the old man had locked him in the closet to die, Vand’s hand shot out to open the door. The door opened easily, and Vand sighed with relief. The relief lasted only a second.
As the door opened wider, brilliant light shot into the small closet, and burning heat hit the priest like a shockwave. Vand’s brow creased as he stared into a vast wasteland, bright sunlight sparkling off the rolling hills of sand. Vand shook his head to clear the mirage from his vision, but the image did not go away. Slowly, Vand ventured through the door and into the wasteland. His eyes scanned the vastness around him. Tall mountains rose in the distance, and lava flowed down the slopes. Smoke curled upward from the mountainous peaks and a harsh wind whipped across the desert floor. Grains of sand slammed into the priest with stinging regularity, and Vand turned to retreat into the closet, but the doorway was gone. He stood shaking his head in confusion as his eyes gazed over the vast desert behind him.
“I must be delirious,” Vand said to himself.
Vand turned in a circle, bringing up his arms to protect his face from the stinging sand. He saw no exit from the wasteland.
“Am I dead?” Vand asked himself. “Is this what comes after life?”
“Is this what you want to come after death?” boomed a loud voice.
Vand gasped as he turned swiftly to find the source of the voice. His mind swam as he moved, and the priest fell to the desert floor.
“Who are you?” Vand shouted loudly. “Show yourself.”
One of the lava-spitting volcanoes suddenly moved. Vand rubbed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. He watched with morbid curiosity as a body formed out of the volcano. A grotesque creature towered over the distant mountains and laughed deeply. The creature was monstrous and black. Horns sprouted for its head, and its eyes were like molten lava. The ground thundered as the beast walked towards Vand, but the priest could not take his eyes off of the demon. He saw sharp claws protruding from the creature’s hands and feet. When the creature laughed, Vand saw a snout full of huge sharp teeth. The priest quivered in fear.
“You are Dobuk,” the priest said accusingly.
“And you are my next meal,” laughed the beast, “but not before you have suffered greatly.”
Vand rolled over and got to his knees. He bowed his head, closed his eyes, and began praying to Kaltara for help. Vand’s concentration was broken when the demon’s claws snared the priest and lifted him towards its mouth. Vand screamed as he gazed into the cavernous snout that would become his grave.
“I know you,” the beast said suddenly. “You are Kaltara’s puppet. What is your name?”
“I am Vand, High Priest of Kaltara,” the priest said proudly. “Have your way with my body. You have no power over me. Kaltara will save me.”
“Save you?” laughed Dobuk as he tossed the priest’s body to the floor of the desert. “The High Priest of Kaltara should know better. You have entered my domain willingly, Vand. No one can save you now except me.”
The Great Demon waved a claw in the air, and Vand started screaming. The priest shrieked as his robe burst into flames, and his skin began to sear. Vand’s hands flew inward and began ripping the burning robe from his body. He flung the burning scraps to the desert floor, but his actions offered no relief. The priest’s skin burst into flames, and Vand frantically rolled around trying to extinguish the flames. All he succeeded in doing was causing the sand to stick to his burning skin.
“Have mercy!” cried Vand. “Kill me, but end this torment.”
“Have mercy?” smirked the Great Demon. “Were you talking to me? My name is Dobuk. Let me hear you say it.”
Vand bit his lip hard in an effort to stop screaming. It did not work, but the action did succeed in slicing the lip open. The priest spit a mouthful of blood into the sand and screamed hysterically.
“Have mercy, Dobuk,” pleaded the priest. “I cannot stand the pain.”
The demon’s snout split in a broad grin. He waved his claw and the fires immediately extinguished, the soaring wind died, and the sand settled to the floor of the desert.
“You have spirit, priest,” declared Dobuk. “I may strike a bargain with you this day.”
Vand gazed at his charred limbs, afraid to touch the skin in case in peeled off and fell into the sand.
“What bargain?” Vand asked nervously. “I have signed all of my belongings away to gain entry here. I have nothing left to offer. Still, I beg for your mercy.”
“You have your life to offer,” grinned the demon.
“My life is over,” sighed the priest. “If you wish me dead, I will not fight you. Take my life and be done with it.”
“That would be your death,” countered Dobuk. “That would mean nothing to me, but your life can be valuable. Renounce Kaltara and become my priest.”