Chapter 19
Wodred
The dark and quiet are oppressive as we journey deeper into the mine.
With each step, it feels like I am carrying the trolless I swore to protect into a tomb, never to return.
Though I trust her seer abilities to know that there is a way out through the tunnels, it is hard to not feel that we are walking into danger.
There could be something living in the mine, Melelea said.
Something harmless? Perhaps. But there is a greater chance that it could be a monster of some kind.
I have heard of giant spiders that make their nests in some mountains, that prey on miners and adventurers in the dark.
With how our luck has been going, it is far more likely to be something like that rather than anything benign.
Still, we have no choice but to move forward.
The imps are coming, that is certain. Grazrath wants Melelea for his evil plans and will not stop until he has her in his grasp.
I will die before that happens. I keep an eye on the tunnels as we climb into the dark, looking for a weak point where I can safely collapse the mine behind us.
That is the only way to make sure that the demons that pursue us will not reach us, even once they finish digging through the snow.
I need to be sure that I will not bring the whole mountain down on us when I do so, however.
Things are quiet and tense as we travel.
Only the sweet sound of Melelea’s breathing accompanies us as we move.
Occasionally, we find ourselves at a crossroads, the tunnel forking, and Melelea will silently consult her runes before pointing the way forward.
We do not talk, but I can smell Melelea’s worry and wariness in her scent.
She knows as well as I do that our circumstances are fraught with danger.
Any moment, something could come out of the dark and attack us, and with my arms carrying her, my weapon is not at the ready.
And, though I am loath to admit it, I am getting tired.
I did not sleep last night as we rode to the mountains, and now I am flagging as the bloodroot wears off.
There are not a lot of ways that things could be worse.
But I cannot allow myself to rest, to stop.
Stopping means death. Death for Melelea.
I will walk until my body is broken and bleeding if it means that she will live through this nightmare.
As we get deeper into the tunnels, I start to hear some dripping, and the air gets more humid.
It also begins to warm ever so slightly.
Not warm enough to put Melelea down, but enough to be noticeable.
Perhaps just above freezing. A sulphur smell also wafts to greet me as we go further.
Somewhere in these mines, there must be an underground hot spring.
We are not close to it yet, but I can smell it in the distance with my sensitive nose.
That bodes well that things might get warmer, at least deep in the mines.
I’m cognizant that Melelea needs to rest, her mana still weak, but she needs somewhere safe and warm to do so.
Perhaps if I can seal the way behind us and find this hot spring, it might be a good place to recuperate.
Regroup and heal before the next leg of the journey.
Because even if we make it through these mines in one piece, there remains what awaits on the outside.
A mountain crawling with imps, all bent on delivering Melelea to Grazrath.
Getting to safety will be no easy feat. We need to be at our best to even have a slim chance of making it.
After perhaps an hour of travel, the tunnels suddenly open into a huge natural cavern that stretches up higher than our light can reach.
But what is more concerning is that it also opens down into a yawning abyss.
A fall into that chasm, and you would never be heard from again.
The only way to cross it is an old and rickety-looking wooden rope bridge that appears to have seen better days.
I do not trust it to hold my weight, let alone our two weights combined.
Taking a step back into the tunnel where we came so that we are a safe distance from the edge, I put Melelea down.
“What should we do?” Melelea asks in a whisper that seems to reverberate in the close space. “We must cross. The runestones say the way out is this way.”
“I will cross first,” I say, my tone brooking no argument. I also take the heat charm off my neck and slide it over Melelea’s head, so that she will be warm while we are apart. “When I have determined it is safe, you will follow.”
“But what if the bridge breaks?” presses Melelea. “You’ll be lost!”
Better me than you, I think, but aloud I say, “I have a warrior’s training. I’ll be fine.”
“So stubborn,” Melelea hisses. “Warrior’s training means nothing to a chasm of this size! We should go back the way we came and try another path.”
“No, your stones told you this is the way, and I trust your gift,” I whisper back solemnly. “Wait until I’m on the other side and steadying the bridge, then you can cross.”
“Wait!” Melelea says, her voice still hushed but panicked. “Wodred!”
But I don’t listen. I know we don’t have time to argue.
So I step forward onto the bridge. The rope sags and creaks under my weight, but holds.
I take several more steps forward, the bridge bouncing slightly as I move.
But I don’t hesitate and I don’t look down.
Stopping in the middle would increase the chance of this rickety bridge snapping.
I have to just keep going. When I reach the other side, I turn and see Melelea on the other side, still holding the lumen fragment and looking at me with fear in her eyes.
The worry in her scent is so strong I can smell it from the other side.
Kneeling, I hold a rope in each hand, steadying the bridge so that it hopefully will not move as much when she crosses.
“Now you,” I whisper to her.
Melelea pauses, her eyes darting down into the abyss in front of her.
“Don’t look down,” I tell her. “Just keep your eyes on me and keep moving forward.”
The trolless only hesitates for a moment longer, fear sharpening her scent, before she gathers her courage and steps onto the bridge.
My heart is in my mouth, my own fear ratcheting up higher than I have ever felt it.
I have been on many battlefields, yet I have never felt this level of panic.
Only two old ropes and some slats of wood stand between the mate of my heart and certain death.
But I do not let the fear I am feeling show on my face. I keep my face calm, my eyes on hers so that she feels safe to cross. When she gets within reaching distance, I stand and grab her off the bridge, swinging her to safety.
“Thank the gods that is over,” Melelea breathes.
I grimace slightly. “Not quite. I need to go back.”
“What?” she says, and for a moment, she’s so shocked that she forgets to modulate her voice. Her words echo off the stone walls, and we both wince at the sound. Then she drops her voice again and continues, “Only a mad orc would cross that bridge twice!”
“I need to collapse the tunnel on the other side,” I tell her. “So that the imps cannot follow. I would just cut the bridge, but imps can fly.”
“Why here?” she questions. “Do it later, in a safer area.”
“This is the best place I have seen,” I explain.
“Anywhere else, the roof of the tunnel could collapse where we are standing, not just where I weaken it, but here the natural cavern will protect me from that happening. There’s no way that a small tunnel over there would cause the top of this huge cavern to cave in. ”
“Wodred, don’t do this,” Melelea pleads. “It is not safe. We will find another way!”
“I’m sorry, Melelea,” I say, truly regretting that I am causing her distress. “But I must protect you, and the only way to do that is to make sure the imps cannot follow us.”
Before she can protest again, I make my way back across the bridge.
It is still holding on, though I know that I am testing my luck.
When I get to the other side, I pull my ax off my back and get to work.
I step into the tunnels where we came from and focus first on cutting down the support beams about five lengths into the tunnel.
When the old wood comes crashing down, nothing happens.
The stone will need more convincing. I take the butt of my axe and slam it up into the ceiling of the tunnel.
There’s a faint rumble and I hit it again.
The rumble gets louder now and I hear a cracking sound.
Stepping back hastily, I barely make it to the chasm’s edge before the tunnel begins to collapse, stone falling and crashing down.
I was hoping that the supports at the mouth of the tunnel into the cavern would hold, but I hear them creaking and cracking and I know that my hopes were in vain.
The whole tunnel is going to cave in, including the space right where I am standing at the edge of the chasm.
Turning, I start running across the bridge.
Behind me, rocks begin tumbling out of the collapsing tunnel, running over the edge into the abyss below me.
I’m almost to the other side when I hear a loud crack and the bridge begins to fall.
The edge that the bridge was connected to must have broken and now I’m tumbling into the dark, my feet giving way beneath me.
A chilling scream echoes through the cavern. I am going to fall to my death.
Instinctively, I reach up to try to find something to grab onto, but there’s nothing. Then, suddenly, another hand grabs mine.
Melelea.