Chapter Twelve
It was almost completely dark when Aiden finally came to, a headache pounding behind his eyes and sharp pains throughout the rest of his body. The nearby torch was burning low, its flickering flame no larger than that of a candle. A strong smell was in the air, a kind of damp, musty odour that reminded Aiden of rotting vegetables.
His leg still ached, but it was a dull throbbing pain as opposed to a sharp, spear-sticking-out-of-my-leg sort of affair, which was something of an improvement. The leg had been splinted with the handle of an axe no less, and had been wrapped with a combination of torn clothing and bandages. Turning his head slightly, he could see much of the rock around him had been removed, and in its place was Nellise's prone form.
“Took an hour to dig them out,” Pacian said to Aiden quietly, sitting beside her. His old friend looked unusually sombre and didn't take his eyes from her when he spoke. “Nel took a blow to the head from a bloody big rock. She's lucky to be alive at all, although there's no telling how long she'll be out. After all that effort to armour herself up, she couldn't have bought a helmet too?”
Aiden slowly raised himself up to rest on his elbows, wincing at the various pains shooting throughout his body at the slight movement. Nellise's breathing was shallow, and the parts of her body that weren't covered by armour were torn and cut or wrapped in bloodied bandages. Clavis, sitting at the base of the stairs, noticed Aiden's movement and crawled closer to investigate.
“Ah, good to see yer awake,” he said, checking out the splint on the young man's right leg. “Ordinarily I'd say ye'd have to wear this thing for six weeks before ya could walk unaided again, but if - when Nel wakes up, she should hopefully be able to get ya back on yer feet in a few hours.” He produced a small vial, most likely taken from Nellise's pack, and handed it to Aiden.
He leaned to one side and used a free arm to take the offered medicine, which he drank down in one gulp. It was foul-tasting stuff, but almost immediately he began to feel a tingling throughout his body, particularly the wounded parts.
“Potent little mixture ain’t it? That'll help ya out some, but it's not nearly enough to fix yer leg. We used most of them to help out Sayana, and we've only got one left for when Nel wakes up.”
Aiden heard a catch in his voice and with cold realisation dawning, began to pay closer attention to their surroundings. The sounds of rapid, shallow breathing could be heard from nearby. Fearing the worst, Aiden carefully dragged himself up the stairs towards the noise, until he could see Colt sitting beside the wild girl, who lay in amongst the rubble.
The ranger held a torch in one hand, and Sayana's right hand with the other. Sweat beaded on her brow and her eyes were wide open, but she stared straight up at the stone ceiling and barely noticed Aiden's approach at all. The spear that had impaled her before she fell had been removed, leaving a gruesome wound that soaked the bandages around her midriff with blood.
“She should be dead, or at least unconscious with a wound like that,” Colt said softly, looking down at Sayana without any visible emotion. “I can't imagine what keeps her hanging on to life, but she's a tough one, no doubt about it.”
“Will she live?” Aiden asked, drawing a shrug from the big man.
“She's holding steady, though she's obviously lost a lot of blood. The only reason she's still breathing is 'cause of those tonics and whatnot we retrieved from Nel's pack. Before she took 'em, I was holding her guts in with my bare hands, I swear to God.” Aiden had taken Colt's lack of feeling as a callous disregard for her well-being. Now he understood the big man was emotionally numb from what they'd gone through while Aiden had been unconscious.
“Hang in there a little longer,” Aiden whispered to Sayana, being careful to keep his voice optimistic. “Once Nellise is awake, she'll fix you up good and fast, do you understand?” Sayana didn't respond, but she did blink emphatically which Aiden took as some sort of acknowledgement.
As he sat watching her cling to life, his sense of relief was slowly diminished by a feeling of cold rage at their situation. Aiden hadn't thought it would be quite so difficult to go through this old, supposedly abandoned city – certainly not to the point of nearly killing two of their number. It may not have been fair, but he looked to Clavis as part of the reason Nellise and Sayana were flirting with death.
“Clavis, when did you say you were here last?” he began.
“A few years back,” the dwarf answered, “though I take it ya mean in the city in general, for I ain't been down this far since I was in short pants.”
“So when you say 'a few years', do you mean three?”
“Roughly, sure,” Clavis agreed.
“And when you reached that passageway upstairs,” Aiden continued smoothly, “you said it was blocked, so you had to turn around and leave, is that correct?”
“Aye, and how is this line 'o questioning relevant to our current situation?” Clavis snapped back, the usually taciturn dwarf apparently feeling the stress of their predicament.
“Aiden, maybe this isn't the time to talk about the past,” Pacian advised.
“We appear to have plenty of time,” Aiden replied coldly. “We found a body, half-buried under the rock fall and Nellise says it was less than three years old, so it just couldn't have been buried beneath tons of stone if it had already collapsed when you arrived.” Clavis levelled a stern glare at the young man and took a step forward.
“What's yer point,” he growled.
“I think at least one of your associates died under that rock fall,” Aiden said bluntly. “I think you had a few people with you when you came back here, and they all died in that collapse. But what I can't figure is why you felt it necessary to keep that from us.”
“How can she know how old a skeleton is anyway?” Clavis grunted, dismissing his argument.
“She's studied anatomy, for one thing,” Aiden remarked, “and received some divine insights as well. Now I'm not a particularly religious person,” he added, seeing Clavis scoff at this news, “but Nellise is. We're still alive today because of her faith and devotion to a higher power, and if that same power says to her that that a body is three years old, I'm inclined to believe her. Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me she's wrong? If you can do that, I'll drop this whole thing right now.”
Aiden considered himself a reasonable judge of character, and his measure of Clavis MacAliese was that he was a man of his word and would probably speak truthfully given the opportunity. The dwarf hadn't answered yet – he was clearly thinking about it, while Colt and Pacian looked on with uncertainty.
“Yer wrong,” Clavis replied with a shrug, but Aiden thought he could detect a lack of conviction in his words.
“You can lie to us, but you can't lie to yourself,” he responded. “Look at it this way - if you really believe what happened was an accident, or you're just simply not at fault, tell us. I'm not going to judge your actions with hindsight, or put blame on you where it isn't due. I just need to know the truth.” The dwarf stroked his beard absently, never taking his eyes from Aiden until he finally spoke.
“Yeah, they died in my keeping,” Clavis eventually spoke in little more than a whisper. “I had seven men with me when I came back to claim what was mine, and they all perished in this cursed place. It wasn't really me own fault, but I still carry the burden, nonetheless.”
“What the hell is this?” Colt bellowed, standing up and taking a few steps towards the dwarf. “Did you lie to them as well? Blow sunshine up their asses about lost treasures just sitting here, waiting to be plundered?”
“Hang on Colt,” Aiden cautioned him while keeping a close eye on Pacian, who was reaching for a dagger. “I want to hear his explanation first.”
“Look, you don't understand,” Clavis said, his voice laced with an intensity they hadn't heard from him before. “Do you know who the King of this place was? King Arland MacAliese, one 'o me cousins! There be only seventeen MacAliese's still alive after the floo
d, and I'm next in line fer the throne!”
“I'm not even sure where to start with that,” Aiden retorted after a few seconds of trying to process this new information. “We've found at least three dozen or so of your clan still alive in the city. They're insane, and tried to kill us, but I'm guessing they've more right to the throne of this wretched city than you do.”
“And then there's the fact that being King of this place probably won't have any bearing on the rest of your people back in Stonegaard,” Aiden continued. “Last I heard, they already have a King and they're pretty happy with him.”
“A bloody MacTavish!” Clavis shouted back. “They was making me meals, and cleaning me house when I was a wee lad, and now they think themselves the new nobility? They don't have the right, nor the brains to lead, and when I get out of here, I'm gonna give 'em a choice between the pretender, Sulinus MacTavish, or meself, a descendant of the real King 'o the dwarves, a proper King.”
“What is down here that makes you think they're not going to just throw you out on your arse when you try to tell them this load of tripe?” Colt growled.
“I've got me lineage,” Clavis said haughtily, “and that's enough to get 'em to listen. But they need a symbol, something connected to the old empire to inspire them. King Arland had a war axe that he kept with him most of the time, his own personal weapon, made by our finest artisans. Magnificent craftsmanship, and real distinctive, so it can't be faked. I show up with that weapon and it'll turn some heads, especially the old guard that can remember what life was like back then. They'll listen alright, no question.”
“So that's what you're after?” Pacian mused. “And you were prepared to sacrifice us to get it?”
“No, no it ain't like that at all,” Clavis said, shaking his head. “After I saw that a group of bandits had set up camp here years ago, I went and hired some likely lads to help clear 'em out. Took some time, since no-one really wanted to come down here, but I finally found me a fearless group 'o lads and we sent those bandits packing.”
“Thing about those boys though,” he continued, “fearless they may have been, but they had more courage than brains. We got to that tunnel up above that me and you lot were going to break through, but ya could walk a good fifty paces further along before ya met the old collapsed section back in those days... before the accident.”
“So they started digging, and the roof came down on them I guess,” Pacian drawled. “How did you manage to be the only survivor?”
“I was hearin' some funny vibrations that the others couldn't, and went to have a look-see,” Clavis explained with a heavy voice. “I did notice the roof was starting to come in, but by the time that happened, it was already too late. They were good lads, and certainly didn't deserve to be crushed to death like that. Anyway, I didn't mention it to ya, because I was afraid that ya wouldn't want to come with me if you'd heard me last helpers died 'orribly.”
“Seems reasonable to me,” Pacian remarked. “But this hair-brained quest of yours to become King is ridiculous. You think an old axe is going to have thousands of your people bowing before you? Not bloody likely. You were right not to mention all this to us. I sure as hell wouldn't have agreed to come if I'd known.”
“You don't seem to understand,” an exasperated Clavis countered. “Me people are being led by the descendants of our servants – our King was a bloody baker, by Relnak! The first big crisis they have, they'll be in trouble, mark me words!”
“What does a girl have to do to get some peace around here?” came softly spoken words from Nellise, quelling the discussion. Aiden instantly put aside this whole issue and carefully moved over to her side. The young woman’s golden eyes were open, and she smiled wanly up at them.
“You have no idea how glad we are to see you awake,” Aiden said, smiling with genuine relief.
“What happened?” she asked, slowly touching her head with one hand and wincing at the result.
“You grabbed Sayana just as the ceiling was coming down,” Pacian explained, gently stroking her hair in a rather obvious display of affection. “You were hit in the head with a rock. Next time you go to buy armour, include a helmet, okay?”
“I'll make a point to remember,” she whispered, very weak from her ordeal. “I see someone did an expert job on the bandages. Pretty soon you won't need me at all.”
“Perish the thought,” Aiden assured her, taking a small vial of liquid that Colt handed to him. “This is one of your healing tonics Nel, so drink up and get your strength back.” She did so, drinking the concoction, then rested her head back down against her bedroll again.
“I'm having trouble breathing,” she mentioned, shifting her body around to try and resolve the problem.
“Yer breastplate took a few dings during the rock fall,” Clavis told her. “It's probably a bit too tight for ya now, so if you lads can take it off, I'll get me little hammer and see if I can pound it back into shape.”
“Thank you Clavis,” Nellise whispered. “For what it's worth, I've been listening to the conversation, and I understand why you acted the way you did. I forgive you for your deception, and the rest of you might consider doing the same. We need to focus on our predicament if we're to survive.”
“We'll get to that in a little while,” Colt grumbled as he and Aiden undid the straps on Nellise' breastplate. “As soon as you're able, Sayana is in dire need of some attention. I honestly don't know how much longer she's gonna last.”
“I knew she was going to be gravely wounded, but it's good to hear she's still among the living,” she sighed as the dented breastplate was lifted away. Clavis took it, giving Aiden a quick, unreadable look, and went over to his pack further down the stairs to do some repairs.
Nellise took a slow breath and then fished around the inside of her robe for something. Pacian seemed to know what she was looking for and produced the crystal she used for healing from one of his pouches.
“Looking for this?” he asked, handing it over to her.
“No, actually, but I would have needed it eventually,” she told him, still searching around in the bodice of her robe. “Oh here it is, never mind.” She produced a necklace with a small amulet hanging from it – it was a tiny sword with a broad crosspiece, set in a circle with some elaborate fluting around it.
Nellise raised it to her lips and kissed it, her eyes closed in a quick prayer. Aiden recognised it as the symbol of her order, and now understood why she made sure it was still there. She was about to move over to Sayana when she was struck with a thought.
“Wait, what were you doing with my crystal?”
“I wanted to see if I could heal you,” Pacian answered awkwardly.
“It's not the crystal that does the healing,” she said, smiling wanly. “Your faith needs to be strong and I don't think you qualify.”
“You never know,” he replied soberly. “One of these days I might surprise you.”
Nellise spent a minute examining Sayana’s wound, then made herself as comfortable as one could while sitting upon a stone stairway and began her prayers. It wasn't long before Aiden began to feel a subtle change in the air as the channelled energy flowed around them.
He laid back and closed his eyes for a little while, content for the time being to allow the process to work on his battered body. The rhythmic sounds of Clavis' hammer striking metal could be heard as the dwarf mended Nellise's armour while she worked.
A few minutes later Nellise stopped, slumping to one side with her strength spent. Pacian quickly put his arm around her shoulders and laid her down next to Sayana.
“She will live,” Nellise whispered, placing a hand on the girl's arm supportively. Aiden felt improved from the healing, though he was still unsure about his leg. He hobbled over to check on Sayana, keeping his weight to one side just in case.
She was breathing normally now, though he couldn't tell without taking off the bandage if the wound had healed over completely. Just the fact that her eyes were closed a
nd she seemed to be resting normally was a good sign, so it seemed they were out of trouble for the time being.
“Did you hear that?” Pacian asked, tilting his head slightly. Aiden gave him a curious look, listening carefully for any kind of unusual sound. He heard nothing for a long moment, and then a kind of dull 'thump' from above, accompanied by the sound of dirt and small rocks hitting the floor of the stairwell.
“Is this tunnel about to collapse?” Aiden asked, suddenly anxious at the thought. Now the pain had subsided he was more acutely aware that they were cut off from the surface by tons of rock. Clavis quickly moved closer to the collapse and took a look at it, trying to find the source of the noise.
“I need more light up 'ere,” he complained. “Light up another torch and shine it on this section for me lad.”
“That's the last torch,” Pacian hedged. “Once it's gone, we'll have to wait for one of the ladies to light our way.”
“Bollocks, I'll have to feel me way around,” Clavis muttered, carefully feeling the surface of the stone. “The rock ain't fallin' away from this side, but that surely does sound like stones being moved away on t'other. I guess me cousins aren't quite finished with us yet.” Pacian groaned at this news, and Colt spat out a few choice curses.
“Way I see it, we got two options,” the big man growled. “Either we start lookin' for another way to the surface real quick, or we fortify the place and fight them when they break through.”
“Does it look like we're in any condition to fight?” Pacian snapped. “Of course we're running, the only question is where to?”
“There weren't no other way up that I know of,” Clavis retorted, “otherwise most of me people would have made it out alive when the waters came. All I know is that we canna go back up this way without a fight. As far as I know there's only this level that ain't flooded out. If we don't find a way through there, maybe we can hide and wait 'til they pass, then make a break for it.”
“Wait,” Aiden interrupted as an idea flashed through his mind. “You said 'when the waters came'. That means there has to be a breach in the walls on one of the lower levels, right?”
“Yeah, it does,” Clavis gravely responded, “but we got no idea what level that breach is on. Could have been on the eighth for all we know, and there's no way we can swim down that far to find out. Even if we could, it just opens out into the lake that was struck, so we'd have to swim up through that and hope there be a way out someplace above.”
“Okay, so there's a chance it might not work,” Aiden conceded, “but if your clan was involved in flooding out the city with the aim of deposing their own King,” - Clavis visibly flinched at the mention of this - “then it's possible they cut that hole on the fifth floor, where his chambers were, just to make sure they got him.”
“How do you know the lake was there, though?” Pacian asked. “Maybe the lake was way down at the bottom of the city, where the mines were.”
“No, he's right,” Clavis said dismissively. “I don't rightly recall if there was a lake 'o water someplace near the King's throne room, but if the water filled up to the fifth level, then it must 'ave achieved a kind of equilibrium with the rest 'o the lake, meanin' it had to be pretty high up, even if the breach was lower down. We better get down to the next level and start searching around, I think there be a strong chance we'll find that breach there, somewhere.”
“Anything to get away from this damn smell,” Pacian agreed, screwing up his face. “What the hell do they keep down here anyway?”
“Smells like they're using it as a garbage dump,” Colt grunted. “It has to go somewhere, I suppose. It'd at least explain why they don't live down here. Let’s move.”
Colt lifted Sayana as if she weighed nothing at all, leaving most of her equipment on the stairs since they couldn't take everything with them. Nellise allowed herself to be lifted without complaint, though she wouldn't permit Pacian to carry her. She leaned on him instead and allowed herself to be guided along by the waning torchlight.
“In God's name, I have never been so tired,” she whispered. “Clavis, who was that man back there who was countering my prayers?”
“Priest 'o Relnak probably,” Clavis grunted. “Though I can scarcely believe Ol' Greybeard would answer the call of a treacherous cur like that.”
Colt's theory on the nature of the stench permeating the air proved to be correct, as they saw piles of refuse, offal and garbage littering the streets and buildings of this section of the once-great city. The smell became overpowering as they moved through it, glad to find a path that the dwarves kept clear to allow travel through the muck.
To Aiden's eyes, it seemed like the refuse was moving, and when he looked closer he saw thousands of beetles crawling over the garbage, feasting on the rotting piles. They seemed content to feed and live out their lives as the only inhabitants in this section of the decaying city.
The immense, white armoured hide of a borer loomed up in the street before them as they walked along, scaring them half to death before they realised it was already dead, the flesh having been eaten from its bones by the voracious beetles crawling over its hide.
What was even more disturbing though, were the huge gashes along its armoured side, as if a massive claw had slashed at the beast. Clavis was at a loss to explain it and they didn't have any choice but to keep moving forward.
They were deep underground now and the pressure of it was starting to get to Aiden. He was constantly nervous now, worrying about too many things to truly relax - if his theory about the breach being on the fifth floor was wrong, they were most likely doomed to perish down here. The ceiling was much lower this far into the city as well, being little more than fifteen feet above their heads.
The sound of splashing water could be heard just up ahead, which puzzled Clavis no end until they arrived at the edge of the stone floor, and looked out across a vast body of water.
“Well blow me down,” he breathed in awe. “The entire floor has cracked in half and sunk at least a few feet, judging by the height those buildings ahead are at. The floor is at an angle too, so I have to assume that some o’ the supports on the lower level have given way over the years.” The stone floor they stood upon was a good two feet above the waterline, the paving stones showing signs of having been split apart by tremendous force.
“So, we have to wade the rest of the way through freezing cold water?” Pacian asked with dismay.
“Aye, unless ya want to try lashing together a raft made out of beetles and excrement, lad,” Clavis grumbled.
The torch was almost gone and it was too dark to see anything else, so Aiden called for a halt. They would have to rely on Nellise or Sayana to provide them with light and until they were able to do so, they may as well rest where they were. So they sat down at the edge of the artificial lake, bunched together for warmth and the comforting reminder of each other’s presence. As the torch died, only Clavis could see their surroundings, and he told them what he saw with a sad note to his voice.
“This used to be the council chambers, where the bureaucracy that kept the city running was set up. A lot of what I can see – and that ain't much, let me be clear – has been destroyed by the water. There's a big pile of rubble at the edge of me vision ahead that practically reaches the ceiling, and some of the buildings look like they're gonna topple over at any minute.”
“Damn that's a lot of water though...” he continued. “We're gonna get wet moving around, no doubt about it, and I ain't lookin’ forward to diving through that to look for a way down to the throne room.” They sat quietly in the darkness, listening to the water lap at the stairs for a few minutes before Clavis spoke again, this time in little more than a whisper. “I'm sorry I got ye all in to this mess, and I'm sorry I didn't tell ya up front what really happened to me. Ye've been good to me this whole trip, and ya deserved better than this.”
Nobody answered him, for whatever personal reasons they might have had. Maybe it was the aching in his bo
dy, or the tiredness from their ongoing ordeal, but try as he might, Aiden couldn't offer him any sort of consolation. If they actually found a way out of here, then maybe one day he would forgive the dwarf for his deception, but until then, he just couldn't do it.
A soft white light appeared at the end of Nellise' staff, offering them some illumination of the gloomy scene around them. She was leaning against a pile of rock while Pacian rummaged through her backpack, apparently searching for something at her behest.
“Is this it?” he asked of Nellise, showing her what appeared to be a small pouch. Moving very slowly, she reached up and opened the pouch, looking inside to check the contents. She nodded, taking it from Pacian’s hands and emptying it into a small mortar. Aiden only caught a brief glimpse, but it looked like some sort of herbs she was about to grind up.
“What’s that stuff going to do?” Pacian asked, sitting next to her and watching curiously.
“A concoction that will keep us going,” she whispered in reply. “Though we may come to regret taking it when its effects wear off. However, we cannot afford to stay here for much longer, despite our need to rest. They will be coming.”
“Right, then I better get to it,” Clavis declared, standing up and starting to strip off his armour, equipment, and weapons in preparation for swimming.
“You're still planning to try and get that damned axe?” Aiden asked, already knowing the answer.
“We may have gone through hell down here, but it'll all be for naught if'n I canna find the bloody thing I came here to get,” Clavis said. “Besides, I might just find that breach ya talked about, assuming I can find a way down to the next level.
“Considering the state of this place, I'd be surprised if you didn't find a hole in the floor,” Aiden replied caustically. “Still, for what it's worth, good luck to you.” The dwarf nodded brusquely in response, then stepped into the water, tentatively at first to be sure of its depth, but with greater confidence as he waded out into the city.
“Sayana's awake,” Colt announced at that moment as she stirred in his arms.
“How are you feeling?” Aiden asked.
“I'm starving,” she replied weakly, leaning against the big ranger as she looked about at their surroundings.
“Yep, she's back to normal,” Pacian chuckled with relief as Colt pulled out some of their rations for her. Sayana quickly took what she was offered, wolfing down cold sausages, bread and cheese much faster than she should have. She managed to avoid choking, despite her best efforts.
“Here's something else you can have,” Nellise offered, shaking a small vial of dark liquid vigorously in one hand. “I've made enough for all of us, but just take one mouthful or you'll regret it later.” She took a swig from the vial herself, shuddering as she swallowed the liquid, then handed it to Pacian who looked at it dubiously.
“This stuff better be good, because it smells worse than this garbage pile we're sitting next to,” he grumbled, taking his mouthful and screwing up his face in silent complaint. “Good God, it smells better than it tastes. Your turn, Aiden.”
“Oh, thanks Pace, I can't wait to try it after such a ringing endorsement,” Aiden commented acerbically, leaning over to take the vial.
“Just swallow quickly and it will be over before you know it,” Nellise offered, her voice sounding stronger already. Aiden took her advice and drank a mouthful in the hopes of avoiding the taste, but to no avail. It was a bitter, acrid tasting substance that made him shudder involuntarily, but almost immediately he felt more energetic.
“Whatever it is, it's working,” Aiden remarked, handing the vial over to Colt, who took a swig from it without complaint. The big ranger passed it to Sayana, who finished off what remained in the vial while she was still eating some bread. She displayed the most benefit from the concoction as her eyes widened and her posture straightened.
“It will last for little more than an hour,” Nellise explained, “but should give us the strength we need to search this place for a way out. If we don't find one, I guess it doesn't really matter after that.”
“I feel great,” Pacian exclaimed, leaping to his feet. “I'm going to search around a bit for anything interesting.”
“And how do you expect to find your way around?” Aiden wondered, feeling better and better with each passing moment.
“I still have the torch here,” Pacian replied after a moment’s thought. “I'll just re-wrap it in cloth and a little oil and it should give me some light for a little while at least.” He tore off a strip of cloth from the bottom of his longcoat, while the others rose to their feet and prepared to wade in to the freezing waters to look for a way out.
Clavis had disappeared from sight several minutes ago, but Aiden could still hear his muttered complaints about the cold, and splashes as he moved around the broken, flooded floor.
Although their boots and clothing did offer some protection from the cold at first, Sayana's ruined pants being non-existent below her thighs did nothing to shield her from the freezing waters as they stepped in.
“Are you feeling alright?” Aiden asked her as they started wading through the waters.
“Still weak,” she whispered, shivering.
“If we run into another fight, just get out of the way and let us take care of it. Your wound is better?”
“It's still very tender, so I won't take the bandages off yet. But my innards are staying on the inside at least.”
“Always a good thing,” Aiden drawled.
“Hey, I've found a way down,” came Clavis' cry from the darkness ahead. “There's holes in the floor all over the place fer some reason, so mind yer steps.”
“What sort of holes?” Aiden called back, looking down at the water with trepidation, hoping that they didn't blunder into any by accident.
“I dunno, it's kinda hard to make out any detail on 'em, but they ain't natural, which means some borers might have dug through some time ago,” Clavis guessed. “I dunno if they can swim or not, never thought about it before. But I don't know what else coulda done it.”
“Well for our sake, I hope they're as dead as the one we saw on the way through. Any sign of a breach in the walls?” Aiden asked, hoping against hope that a way out had been found, though part of him knew it couldn't be that easy.
“Nay, though I only been searchin' for a few minutes,” Clavis answered with a shake of his head. “The problem is trying to hold me breath long enough to get a good look-see. Anyway be careful where ya step, I'm headin' back under again.” There was the sound of splashing water, and then silence as he continued his search.
Aiden wasn't really paying attention, as he was watching Pacian climbing the pile of rubble that Clavis had mentioned earlier. It rose up out of the shattered buildings and flood waters around them, and seemed to consist mostly of carved stone sections from housing.
The light from Pacian's makeshift torch lit the ceiling and there appeared to be a sizeable hole above him. That could only mean that the rubble Pacian was climbing had come from... the floor above them.
“Pace, watch out, that hole above you leads right up through to where those crazy dwarves are living.” Everyone halted immediately at this statement, looking up at the hole in trepidation.
“I'm just going to take a quick look,” Pacian assured them, clambering over the rubble with ease towards the gap in the wall.
“No, wait,” Aiden hissed as loudly as he dared, hoping that they hadn't already alerted their enemies to their presence. Pacian ignored the warning, sitting directly beneath the hole and looking through it cautiously. It was much bigger than he was, probably close to ten feet across and had smooth sides, much like the borer holes they had seen on the higher levels.
Looking around at the base, Aiden couldn't see any signs that it was used as a passage between the levels on a regular basis. Despite his reservations, he started to climb up the pile of rubble to join his blond friend, for although part of him was wary of bringing their enemi
es down upon them again, another part wanted to know if they'd just found their way out of this dreadful place.
“What's goin' on up there?” Clavis said, surfacing not far from the base of the rock pile.
“There's a hole leading up through to the next level,” Nellise informed him. “I think they're trying to see if we can get out that way.”
“Well, I ain't found any way out from down there yet, but I did find the throne room. If I can just hold me breath a bit longer, I can get in there and see if the King's axe is still there.”
“Wouldn't it have rusted away by now?” Colt asked.
“It woulda if'n it were made 'o steel mate, but it was fashioned from precious mithral, and immune to the ravages of time and water.”
“Mithral?” Pacian called down to the dwarf. “Isn't that stuff worth a fortune?”
“Aye, and don't think fer a second that yer gonna sell it, ya greedy bastard.”
“I was just curious,” Pacian protested.
“Alright, this time I'll make it all the way down,” Clavis declared, almost to himself. He exhaled as much as he could, and then inhaled a mighty breath before plunging down into the depths.
“Give me a boost would you?” Aiden asked his old friend, having figured out the best way to climb up. Pacian complied, managing to push him while maintaining his precarious perch on top of the crumbled buildings. Aiden managed to get a hold above the edge of the stone, and pull himself up high enough to peer over the edge.
It was completely dark, but there were also no signs of glowing eyes looking back at him either. His heart racing, he continued to climb all the way, heaving himself over the edge to sit on the stone floor to get an impression of his surroundings.
Although he couldn't see, his hearing gave him a sense of an enclosed space, as if he'd climbed into one of the buildings they'd passed on their way through. Despite his desire to remain inconspicuous, he motioned for Pacian to throw the torch up through the hole so he could see where he was exactly. The torch flipped through the gap with ease and landed across from Aiden.
He was underneath a vast pile of fallen rock that was hollow around the hole he sat next to. The rocks made an almost perfect dome shape overheard, peaking at the front of a building roughly fifteen feet away. The door to the building was still intact, though it appeared to be blackened in places, and the bones of several dwarf-sized individuals were scattered and broken around it.
But what really caught Aiden's attention was the gap in the surrounding rock just behind him, at roughly chest height, that opened out into the main thoroughfare – the hole he himself had made only hours ago.
Aiden could barely contain his excitement, for he had stumbled into the laboratory he had sought, right under the noses of the insane occupants of Ferrumgaard.