The cavern is dark, moist and warm. Fear grips the hearts of the Toronto Maple Leaf LTIR team. The youngest of the four men in the cave, James van Riemsdyk, feels that fear more keenly than the rest. James was only recently added to the LTIR team. He had always believed that the Long Term Injured Reserve team was a dreary purgatory best avoided at all costs. The Toronto Maple Leafs had a different take on the matter. For the Leafs being assigned to the Legendary Trinket Investigation and Retrieval team was an honour and a dangerous privilege.

Today James, along with Stephane Robidas, Nathan Horton, and Joffrey Lupol, is  kilometers underground following a clue to the legendary sword Excalibur. They have been walking in the darkness for over an hour and James is convinced that they are actually underneath the Atlantic ocean. They had entered a cave near the Southwest coast of England and, after several twists and turns, were making their way, deeper and deeper, in a nearly straight line.

Without their Toronto Maple Leaf night vision goggles the team would never have been able to proceed. But the goggles chafe James’ forehead. His foot is not nearly healed enough to make all this walking comfortable. James squeezes the handle of his heavy warhammer. The tension has been mounting ever since the team had heard the warning. A skeleton had been stacked in a neat little pile near the cave entrance and as the first Leaf had entered the cave the skull atop the pile had spoken a dire prophecy.

“All who enter will remain for all time! No change, no growth, only stagnant, death awaits you! Your quest for power will destroy you! Your hearts desire will be the last thing you ever see!”

The skull might have had more to say but James had smashed it into powder with one swing of his hammer. Now he regreted the action and felt as if the cave held a special malice for him alone. Up ahead Nathan signals for a halt. He holds his beautiful samurai sword, a genuine Masamune tachi, and stands staring around a sudden bend in the tunnel.

“What’s the reading?” Nathan asks in a whisper.

Stephane check his Toronto Maple Leaf GPS tracking unit. For some reason the location he programmed into the unit will not stay still. He tries to re-calibrate the device to no effect. Despite impossibly bouncing all over the place their target is relatively close to them.

“I am getting some strange sort of feed back or something.” Stephane says after a moment. “We are getting close, more than that I cannot say.”

“What do you see?” Joffrey asks Nathan.

“Light.” Nathan answers.

No word could have been more surprising. If there was light that implied that there were people who needed it. If there were people down here they had been here for a long time, since the Leafs had found evidence that they were the first to discover the cave in centuries.

“Okay team.” Nathan says. “Time to get combat ready.” There is no official leader of an LTIR team, however Nathan and Stephane have been on the list for some time now and their experience lends them an air of command. James is thankful for the veteran leadership. Suddenly an alarm sounds from James’ wrist watch. The rest of the team remembered to put theirs on vibrate. James curses as he quickly turns off the noise. Silence returns to the cave for only a moment. From far ahead there is the sound of a gong that echoes and sustains itself far longer than any natural sound should.

“The light just went out.” Nathan says.

“Fuck.” James is furious at himself.

“Shake it off buddy.” Stephane puts a hand on James shoulder. “Shit happens, now we deal with it. Let’s just say it quick and then keep moving.”

“We don’t have time for that shit now.” Nathan hisses.

“We have to.” Stephane insists.

“I think we better say it.” Joffrey chimes in. “Babs will be angry if we don’t”

“You think he will know?” James asks.

“Babcock always knows.” Joffrey and Stephane answer at the same time.

“Fuck, fine. Let’s just be quick.” Nathan finally agrees

After a very brief moment of silence the Leafs speak in unison as if the words were a spell. And maybe words do hold the power to create.

“Dear God and Lord Stanley” The cavern trembles at the invocation. “Thank you for bringing us all together in Toronto and please help Steven Stamkos find his way home.”

“Did you guys feel that tremor?” James asks hoping they did not.

“Come on.” Nathan answers. “Let’s find out how totally fucked we are.”

Nathan leads with his sword held high. Stephane is just two steps behind him with his Glock 9mm pistol. James follows. He carries his twelve pound warhammer on his shoulder. The deadly weapon needs space to be used effectively and James is anxious in the tight corridor. Bringing up the rear Joffrey holds a normal arrow on the string of his bow.

After only a few steps the light ahead of them returns. The Toronto Maple Leaf night vision goggles react instantly to the sudden brightness, protecting the vision of the team.

“I don’t like this.” James says.

“Duly noted.” Nathan says. “Keep moving.”

As the Leafs get closer to the light they start to hear a faint creaking sound. It almost seems as though an old wooden house is being buffeted by a strong breeze. Closer to the light the sound becomes louder. A rattle, like dice in a cup joins the steady, rythmic creaking. The light intensifies and the Leafs cannot quite discern the nature of the movement ahead of them. Their goggles adjust to the glare as they step out of the corridor and into a vast underground chamber.

On a raised mound of stones, directly ahead of them, a majestic sword stands, hilt up, shining brightly. The swords gleam glitters off piles and piles of golden treasure that line the sides of the chamber. As vast a collection of wealth as has ever been seen on this world.

The Leafs barley even take note of the loot. Standing on the mound before the sword is a toothless hag. She shrieks in bitter excitement.

“Come and claim your prize.” She is waving and twirling about wildly. “Come and join the gaurdians of the sword!” She cackles as she spins.

Arrayed before her, between the Leafs and the sword, an army of skeletons, apparentely the gaurdians of Excalibur. They raise their weapons at a silent command and begin to march forward. Each eyeless skull focusing an unblinking gaze on the Leafs.

“Damn.” Joffrey says, replacing the normal arrow in his quiver and pulling out a special one.

“Stand back guys, I got this.” James steps forward with a grin. Balancing the hammer on his shoulders, he spits on his hands and rubs them together. “This is gonna be fun.”

As James awaits the skeleton army the rest of the Leafs LTIR team prepare as best they can. Skeletons are hard to fight. They cannot feel pain, and can continue fighting even after being cut in half. Bullets, blades and arrows are not well suited for smashing walking bones. Nathan locks his sword into its steel sheath. Blunted, the weapon will work well, although the altered balance will take some getting used to. Stephane holsters his gun and puts on a pair of brass knuckles. He will be the most exposed of all the team, but swallows his fear. Joffrey has eight special arrows in his quiver. He hopes he doesn’t need them all.

The skeletons advance with slow steady steps. They are all armed differently, almost a journey through the ages of ancient warfare. Rotted leather armour and pitted old iron clings to the bones as they rattle on. There is some sort of intelligence behind their march because at the front of the horde each skeleton is armed with a shield and spear of some kind. Twenty meters away, those shield bearers lock step and form a wall. The maneuver is done with silent precision.

“Can you open that up for me please?” James asks.

Joffrey fires one of his arrows right over James’ shoulder. It hits the middle of the metal boss in the center of a rotted wooden shield and explodes. The explosive is set in the arrowhead so as to send it’s destructive force in a forward arc. So James is safe as he races after the arrow. Dozens of skeletons are destroyed in the blast. James starts to spin, using the momentum of his run to propell his hammer. Its wide head obliterates everything it touches. The Leaf spins so quickly that none of the unholy host can even get close. Shattered ruins are sent flinging about the cavern. With wild enthusiasm James lays waste to the army, and they do not seem to notice.

After a moments pause the skeletons resume their march, closing the gap in their formation.

“James!” Nathan shouts as he backs up.

Never stopping, the whirling storm of destruction spins back the way it came. Dozens of skeletons are obliterated with each passing moment yet there are hundreds more to take their place. Joffrey sends all his remaining explosive arrows arching into the rear ranks of the army hoping to relieve some of the pressure. As the skeletons close he uses his bow like a club. Nathan smashes down each skeleton that approaches. With a flurry of punches Stephane begins to chip away at one opponent after another.

The Leafs are holding the skeletons at bay, but they all know that they odds are too overwhelming. Eventually mortal muscles will tire, the undead never do.

The blood is pounding in Joffreys ears. His whole world has shrunk to the space directley in front of him. Every grinning skull he destroys is replaced immediatley. Nearly overwhelmed the Leaf laughs in the face of his doom.

“I just wish that witch would shut up.” He says.

On the stone mound, in front of the shining sword, the toothless old hag has not stopped spinning and cackling. The three Leafs by the entrance seem to realize the significance of this together.

Joffrey takes a step back into the corridor. Stephane and Nathan immediately shift over to cover him as best they can. With the speed of thought Joffrey pulls out a normal arrow and fires it straight and true into the eye of the witch.

She collapses in a heap. Like bones blown over by a breeze her army does the same.

“Whoa.” James nearly stumbles but stops himself. Dizzy, he shakes his head and wobbling, he returns to the team. All around them the treasure begins to flicker and fade. Last of all is the sword. Its light is slow to diminish even after the sword itself has completely vanished.

“Just an illusion.” Nathan says with disgust. “Just a trap. Let’s get out of here.”

At the opposite end of the cavern Arthur, the nightmare king of Avalon, tightens his bony grip on the true sword Excalibur. His very real fear is the most thrilling sensation he can recall feeling in ages. Two holy powers had been called upon in his sanctum, and the first incursion in centuries nearly succeeded. Arthur vows to learn more of these powerful Leafs. The time has come for the once and future king to face this new and dangerous world.