The Awakening (23 page)

“The odor is similar. But, much stronger. It seems more like that in the dark caverns where the mushrooms and truffles grow,” Giles noted, being a true lover of those edibles himself.

“Yes. You are right. I wonder what could be growing in here though,” Alemar speculated.

Giles sighed. “Who knows. At least we are breathing the odor of life and not death. Surely, things here are not stagnant and decaying,” the blonde elf noted.

A breeze blew across Alemar’’s face and she stopped for a moment, put her index finger in her mouth to dampen it and then held it up against the air flow.

“There must be an opening ahead. This is fresh air that I feel,” she said.

The wind grew stronger with each step that they now took, and it rustled their clothing and caused the torches to flicker.

“Shield the lights…” Clovis warned, “…or we may lose them,” he concluded, cupping his hand around the one he carried.

They shortly found themselves fighting against the winds which were quickly growing in intensity. Walking became somewhat difficult, and they were now being buffeted from left to right as they attempted to progress along the pathway. Their clothing was billowing out from behind them, and they could barely keep their eyelids open without tears welling up within them from the fierceness of the winds.

Clovis’ torch went out and he quickly attempted to re-light it. Giles’ soon followed suit, and the two of them tried in vain to reignite them, though it was almost impossible under the circumstances to even create the spark that they required to do so. They shortly found themselves in complete darkness, fighting against the strong winds, while still trying to make headway down the passage.

“We cannot continue on like this,” Clovis shouted over the growing din.

“Nay. It is unsafe. What if the path should fall away before us. We will not know about it until one of us tumbles to his doom,” Giles noted.

Alemar reached out. “Take my hand,” she instructed the others, unwilling at this juncture to stop their advance. “Hold on to me tightly. If I fall, you will be able to keep me from toppling completely. I am not too heavy to bear. Just be vigilant and do not loosen your grip.”

Alemar reached back and clasped Giles by the wrist, and he grasped hers as well. He in turn clamped his big hand onto Clovis’ waiting arm and they thus completed the chain. In this manner, they crept down the passageway in complete darkness, slowly but surely.

After walking this way for a painstaking hour or so, Alemar discerned what appeared to her to be a very dim light in the distance.

“Do you see it too?” she asked.

“Aye, my Lady. I see something, which is more than I could have said only a moment ago,” Giles replied, and Clovis concurred as well with a grunt of his own that emanated from the black depths in the rear of the formation.

Gingerly, Alemar took a small step forward, keeping her free hand on the wall beside her all the while. One step at a time they progressed toward the light, the true distance to which they could not determine at all since they could barely see to begin with.

The wall was warm and damp, and it felt to Alemar as if the surface had changed somewhat. It seemed smoother, polished even, and she could not find anything upon which she could gain a hold. The wall curved slightly to the left, and she followed the curve, stepping lightly as she moved. Once around the bend, the intensity of the light increased, though it appeared now to be merely a spot of brightness rather than a bathing light. They proceeded to advance, albeit very slowly, until the wall began to curve in the opposite direction this time. The spot of light remained in their sights, growing larger as they apparently drew closer to the source.

Suddenly, her foot slid from under her and her other knee gave way. Alemar gasped, but Giles held tight to her wrist. She found herself dangling over the edge of the path which had come to an abrupt and unexpected end. The winds were buffeting her violently, and she swung dangerously from left to right, twisting painfully, with nothing to hold on to or to step upon. With great care, Giles pulled her gently up, anchored as he was by Clovis behind him, until she could regain her footing once again.

“Thank you, Giles. That was too close a call for my liking. Although I anticipated such a mishap, I did not really expect it to happen,” she said with a sigh of relief at being back on solid ground. Composing herself within moments, she began immediately to assess the situation. “We have reached an end of sorts, it appears.”

“Thank the First that it is only an end to the path, my Princess,” Clovis commented. “That was too close for my comfort,” he sighed.

“An end nevertheless, Clovis,” she replied, as she sunk to her knees and began to run her free hand back and forth over the floor, feeling for the exact spot where it dropped off. She clung tight to Giles with her other hand.

Alemar picked up a small stone from the surface beside her and reached out into the darkness. Dropping it over the side, she craned her neck so that she could listen for it to hit something solid. It took an extraordinarily long time, but finally she heard a muffled thud in the far distance.

“It is a very long way to the surface below,” she concluded. “Perhaps there is a stair or ladder upon which we can descend. I hope this is not a dead end passage,” she worried aloud. “Would each of you please grab one of my ankles,” she asked.

“Are you going to do what I suspect, Princess?” Clovis asked, anxious.

“Of course. You know me well, my friend,” she said, and she laid down upon the hard rock in anticipation.

They each grasped one of her slender ankles with their big hands. They knew that it would do them no good to protest.

“Hold tightly now,” she admonished them needlessly.

Alemar inched her way over the side, extended her arms fully and reached out first to the left and then to the right.

“I can feel nothing upon which I can grasp,” she said, disappointed, her voice echoing in the space before her. “Come closer to the edge. I have to be certain.”

They guardedly crept forward on their hands and knees, holding her legs so tightly that she would surely have bruises after this was over. Both of their shoulders were over the side by now, and Alemar was stretched out below, reaching every which way she could.

“I think I feel something,” she finally said. “I need just another few inches.”

They extended their arms as far as they could, giving her the extra reach she asked for, and apparently it was exactly what she required.

“Yes,” she shouted into the emptiness. “This must be the top of a platform or something. Can you lower me to it?” she asked fearlessly, as if there was no danger whatsoever attached to her request.

“We can try, my Lady,” Giles said reluctantly. “But it is not easy. We have nothing to anchor ourselves with.”

They stretched further nevertheless, and they tried to give her every single bit of distance that they possibly could.

“I can feel it clearly now. It is a surface, at least broad enough for me to stand upon. Give me another few inches and then you can let go slowly. It is soft, probably made of earth, not stone and it will cushion my fall.”

“Are you sure, Princess? How solid is it? What if it gives way from your weight?” Giles fretted.

“I think it will hold, Giles. Regardless, I must try,” she replied.

Hesitating, “Must you?” Clovis asked.

“What else have we to do now?” she replied.

“Okay. But be careful,” he said to her, sounding much like a mother hen. “On three then.”

Together, the two elfin warriors spoke the numbers aloud, “One, two, three.…”

As they spoke, they outstretched themselves to their very limits, trying to ease Alemar’s descent as much as they conceivably could. On three, when they could reach no further, they slowly released their grips upon her ankles and she fell with a thud upon the platform below.

The following silence made the next moment seem like a tiel. Giles and Clovis held their breaths until Alemar spoke again.

“I made it,” she said, almost surprised herself. “And it is more than just a platform,” she continued elated. “It continues in a spiral around the cavern, at least as far as I can see, and it seems to descend. I am certain it will take us to the surface below,” she exclaimed. “Each of you has to move all the way to the right side of the ledge, and then lower yourself over the side backward, feet first. The drop is no more than another five feet or so. One at a time now,” she urged.

They followed her instructions, and shortly all three were standing upon the ledge and gazing out into the open space of an absolutely enormous cavern. It was difficult to see all the way to the ceiling, and even the opposite side was obscured by the great distance. The winds were not nearly as strong as they were when they were inside the passageway. The opening to the path must have captured the gusts in a strange way and augmented them to a higher level of velocity than they actually had. And the light was much brighter here, its source now clearly visible, though quite far away.

“I can see the light. It seems to be coming from somewhere in the very middle of this place. Let us head for it if we can,” Alemar suggested, restless.

She took the lead as usual, and the three of them walked carefully down the earthen ramp and around the entire perimeter of the cave. It descended gradually to the floor below. When they had gone about half way around the cavern, they could see the aperture from whence they had just emerged.

“Look at that up there,” Clovis said. “It looks like no more than a tiny hole in the vast wall of the cave.”

Squinting his eyes and scanning the walls of the chamber, he noticed many other such openings that dotted the perpendicular surfaces all around the chamber.

“Indeed it does,” Giles concurred. “No one could have survived a fall from there had they rushed headlong down that path.”

“Or any of the other paths that lead to this room,” Clovis noted.

“The little bit of light helped,” Alemar remarked, as they continued to walk.

“What do you think is generating it?” Clovis asked.

“Could it be some kind of fire?” Giles speculated.

“More likely it is a mineral of a phosphorescent kind. It does not flicker like a flame would, and its intensity does not waver. In either case, it did not find its own way there. Someone or something had to have put it there, whatever its source,” she concluded.

“And that someone or something must be aware of us by now too. We have not exactly been as quiet as we could have been,” Giles warned.

“You are right, Giles. We had best be on our guard,” Alemar replied, her elation at having come this far now ebbing slightly in favor of caution.

They had made a full circle and almost another half around the vast chamber, and they were now nearing the bottom. The path widened a little toward the end, and now they were able to walk abreast once again. Clovis drew his sword and held it at his side. Giles also readied his spear. Alemar pulled the dagger from her belt and held it before her. They did not know what to expect when they arrived at the cavern floor.

She was the first to step foot upon the packed earth of the cave’s foundation, and she did so heedfully, ascertaining first that it was solid enough to hold her weight. Once assured of that, she signaled for the others to join her. The surface was soft and mossy, moist and fragrant, and their feet sunk slightly with each step, though not dangerously so. The odor was similar to what they smelled before, only now it was much stronger. It was a very organic smell and not repulsive at all. The walls around them seemed to shine slightly as if polished and they reflected the light, maximizing it.

“Let us walk directly to the center. The light appears to be on some kind of raised area overhead. It is not at our eye level. There must be a way to get up to it,” Alemar said.

“This chamber is enormous. I can barely see the ceiling. I wonder how it was created and by whom,” Giles commented, looking all around him.

“It must have taken them tiels just to excavate it all. The walls are smooth as a polished piece of Noban. How did they do that? It is so huge,” Clovis, eyes wide with wonder.

“I cannot imagine,” Alemar responded. “But I believe that people gasp in amazement when they first see Eleutheria as well. Intelligent people find ways to do wondrous things,” she concluded as they drew closer to the center.

“So you think that men, dwarves or elves created this place, and not some other type of creature?” Giles asked.

“No, I really do not know who could have done this. If I had to guess, I would say it resembles the work of the ancient dwarf tribes more than anything else that I have studied,” she replied. “They were masters at the art of rock sculpture and carving, and they loved to tunnel far into the mountains’ hearts. It is written that hidden deep in the western mountains, just before the land falls away into the Sea of Solay, there is an entire city cut out of the rock, hidden from the world since it was created. The rumor is that some of the inhabitants never saw the real light of day, that they never left the city within the mountain even once during their entire lives.”

“That would not be my choice, if I were given one. I love the sunlight,” Clovis remarked.

“As do I, but not all people are the same. The dwarves of the ancient times preferred the dark to the day,” Giles commented.

“Where did you learn that?” Clovis chided him.

“I used to study the weapons the ancient races used, and because some of the dwarves preferred to fight in the dark, they constructed different types of armaments. Some were quite ingenious.”

“You are like a child with his toys when it comes to weapons,” Alemar teased him. “But, I think it is time we focus upon what is before us now, not lessons in history. We are just about in the center of the room.”

They inched their way forward.

“It is not a fire, as you suspected, that illuminates the chamber,” Clovis said, looking upon the area of brightness.

“No,” she responded, staring up at what seemed to be a circle of light suspended above them, perhaps twelve feet in diameter. “Can you hear that noise? It sounds like it is buzzing, as if it is alive.”