* * * * *
It was a long and arduous hike filled with waterfalls and angled passages. The cavern cooled off quickly as they distanced themselves from the heart of Carrion Mire. By following the flow of water they avoided becoming lost in the maze of underground passageways. Stopping often to rest, they made poor time. Even Brimmelle was too exhausted to complain.
The caverns led the group under the northern mountains of Carrion Mire’s valley and away from the cliff that Santorray had climbed. It was the right direction, but the mountains were wide.
Torches were at a premium and they limited themselves to only one or two to be lit at a time, for they knew not how long it would take to reach the surface. Aside from burning torn fragments of their clothes on the ends of the torches, they had nothing to light for a campfire. No tree roots existed this deep under the earth. Nevertheless, they stopped to rest without a fire. Everyone was cold and miserable.
Santorray continued to shiver as he thawed out from Avanda’s spell. Grasping tightly onto one of the torches, he found himself holding the fire too closely in an effort to warm himself up more rapidly, scorching his skin. Hating the cold, the Blothrud frequently gave a low growl directed at the young spell caster, and would continue to do so until he was warmer.
She ignored his snarls and posturing, which only agitated him even more.
Gluic reached into Thorik’s backpack and pulled out his sack of Runestones. “Remember when we were trying to find the right stones to raise the column?”
“Yes…and one of the stones we tried ended up glowing and giving off a lot of heat.” Thorik reached into his sack and pulled out several Runestones before finding the one he wanted. It didn’t come into play then, but it should now.
Holding the Runestone of Belief out in front of him with both hands, he traced the worn ridges on the top and stared deeply into the crystal in the center. The sensation started. A flow of energy exited the stone into Thorik’s right hand, up his arm, through his body, back out his left arm and hand before completing the circle into the stone.
The red crystal in the center began to glow as he held his thumbs on the two small blue gems near the sides. The light and heat increased and decreased as Thorik willed it to, as long as he kept his concentration focused.
Once he raised it to a temperature he no longer could hold onto, he set the Runestone down and backed away from it. To his relief, the glow and heat continued to radiate without him holding onto it, much in the way the column stayed up after he removed the stones.
Red light shined on the cave walls and warmed the group as they huddled in a circle. Every so often Thorik would lean in and rejuvenate the Runestone’s intensity by holding it firm and allowing himself to be at peace with the object. This lasted an hour or so each time.
Once warmed, Thorik inspected the Spear of Rummon. The tip had layers of razor sharp points, like rows of teeth working down from the point of the shaft. Incredibly light in weight for the amount of metal teeth, the shaft was covered with tiny dragon scales. The base had a hole where a longer rod once existed to give the spear its full length. But for a Num, the extension was not needed.
It felt warm to Thorik’s touch and he could feel his own heartbeat in his palms as he grasped the spear’s shaft. If Rummon had killed the Mountain King, it gave off no sense of wishing to do the same to Thorik. In fact, it made the Num feel safe and secure when holding it. He hoped Ovlan was correct about him needing the weapon. He also hoped Brimmelle wouldn’t find out that Rummon was the one who killed the Mountain King.
After the inspection, Thorik added loops onto his backpack to store his newfound weapon, for his hands needed to be free to climb through the caves.
Fortunately for the group, the caves eventually leveled out and they made good time through the underground passages as they followed the water, hoping it would lead them out to the surface.
After walking on and off for nearly three days, the cavern finally opened up onto the north face of the mountainside, filled with lush vegetation. They would eat well today.
Tired and dirty they walked out into the hot sun. Several trees hid the mouth of the cave as the shade helped ease the party’s transition from the cool dark underground.
Grewen arms were still black from the scorch marks received by defending himself against the lava creature. Some were too deep to ever totally recover.
Burn marks and heat blisters scarred parts of Thorik’s body as well, especially on his lower legs from when he held himself over the lava after grabbing the spear. He only hoped the spear was worth the effort and pain. “We made it,” Thorik sighed as he blocked the sun to allow his eyes to adjust.
Santorray had fully thawed out by the time they had seen the light of the sun, but still shivered from the experience of being frozen alive by Avanda’s spell. “Out of Carrion Mire, yes. But we still need to travel through the Kiri Desert and O’Sid Fields before we reach Corrock. We also need to cross River’s Edge during our travels”
“River’s Edge?” Thorik gasped. “No, I do not wish to see that place again. The dead continue to roam the waters. Can’t we go around?”
“No other option. Eastlanders kill Unday on sight, and Ovs won’t let Dels through their land. River’s Edge is our only path.”
Chapter 25
Crossing River’s Edge