Chapter 5: The Captives
The cliffs along the road were full of natural caverns, and they chose one that had a small entrance and went back an untold distance. Kelden draped his wet clothes over Theodus' warm body, and steam poured from them. Meanwhile, Thayan lay tossing and turning on the cold stone floor, mumbling incoherently.
"Maybe we should move back into the cave a bit," said Theodus.
Kelden glanced into the darkness, then shook his head. "I don't like the aura here, Theodus. Besides, if a worm wanders in, it will find us anyway."
"I feel it too," said Theodus, "an aura of evil. Maybe we should search for a different cave."
"It's too late," said Kelden. "And I'm too tired and hungry."
Kelden used the food maker to produce his meal. It looked like a simple brass pot with a dragon-shaped handle, but it was actually a sophisticated magical device that produced a cruddy brown cookie which was quite nutritious. It could be used thousands of times before it had to be recharged.
"I'll save a few for our friend here," Kelden said, his mouth full of cookie. "Would you like one, Theodus?"
The Dar fiend sniffed disdainfully. "As you know, I rarely find it necessary to eat. When and if I choose to do so, I'll consume something worthy and not one of those tasteless things."
"More for me," said Kelden. As he ate, he felt a spark of optimism. He had powerful weapons and devices, and Theodus to help him. Maybe he would succeed after all in reaching Frindagan and everything would turn out fine.
He tried to leave his thoughts right there, but once he finished eating, doubts crept in. The seers had warned him this would be no easy task. And he wouldn't always be so quick to find a cave by nightfall.
Kelden sighed, watching the rain beyond the cave mouth in the failing light. It would be dark soon, yet they didn't dare light torch or candle. His thoughts turned to the warm bed and comfortable halls of Valganleer, and he shuddered, wracked by chills. His clothes were now warm and dry against his skin, but he was so cold inside he might as well have still been soaked. The gloom seemed all around him now.
Thayan cried out in his sleep, his voice echoing through the cave. "Please..." he begged. "Don't do this..." He groaned and rolled over.
"Perhaps we should gag him," Theodus said. "If he yells like that too much, he could alert worms to our hideout."
Kelden said nothing, his eyes fixed on the cave mouth. His fingers were splayed out against the stone floor, tense and cold, his knuckles white.
"Are you okay?" Theodus asked.
Kelden nodded. "I just can't believe this. What are we doing here, Theodus? How did things come to this? I can't imagine how we'll survive."
"We'll do what we must," said Theodus, in his best wise, calm voice.
Kelden rolled his eyes and muttered, "Great advice. Big help there."
The two fell silent, as the cave turned pitch black. Only the lightning made their surroundings visible every so often.
Thayan cried out again, waving his arms as if to fight off some invisible foe. Then he took to muttering in a low voice.
"We need to silence him," Theodus warned.
"The worms won't hear him," Kelden said wearily. He wasn't sure why he said this, as he had no idea if his words were true. He was simply exhausted and didn't want to bother doing anything but sit there.
Theodus lay down and folded his arms behind his head. "As you wish. You're still my master--to the bitter end, I suppose."
"I'm not your master," Kelden said. "Don't be ridiculous. We're not in Valganleer anymore, Theodus."
The cave grew silent, save for the echoes of the storm. Thayan stopped his muttering and lay still. Longer pauses began to occur between the lightning flashes, leaving total darkness during those times.
During one such pitch-black moment, a loud thump arose near Kelden. It sounded as if something heavy had struck stone.
"Theodus?" he called out. "What was that?" His heart raced. Had a worm found them? Was this the end?
Theodus didn't answer.
Lightning illuminated the cave, revealing a huge figure standing over Kelden. In that single flash of light, Kelden got a fair look at the figure. He was a huge man with a bald head, a bushy black beard, and insane eyes. His chubby face was weathered and lined, with dark flesh beneath his eyes as if from lack of sleep. Upon his forehead was branded the rune of Green World. It had been crossed diagonally by another line, which meant he'd been stripped of his rank.
"A former seer!" Kelden gasped, and then the man slammed a crystal mace down on Kelden's forehead. He felt himself slipping away, and he tried frantically to fight it off. But it was too late. The darkness took him.