TST (26 page)

The tattered and weary company plodded on for another hour before finding a suitably large yet defensible cavern in which to rest. Azerick channeled much of his remaining energy into a large stalagmite, heating it until it glowed a bright orange and started to crack under the intense heat. The spire put off enough heat to keep the group of humans warm for several hours as they rested.

Toron woke him some time later. Azerick saw that most everyone was up and preparing to move once more.

“Toron, I completely forgot about your injury. How are you doing?” Azerick asked the big minotaur.

“I will survive though it does pain me a small amount,” Toron replied.

Azerick knew that for Toron to admit to any pain that it must be quite severe. “Let me take a look at it before we move out. I may be able to make a compress to dull the pain and quicken the healing.”

“If you think it is necessary I will supplicate myself to your ministrations,” Toron acquiesced, secretly grateful for any help in relieving the discomfort, but only because it might hinder his fighting ability, his pride insisted.

Azerick held a light up close and gently smoothed the coarse hair way from the wound to see it better. Even this gentle touch made the stout creature flinch. The damage was evident and Azerick was amazed that even a hardy creature like Toron was able to endure such without complaint for so long. An area the size of a small dinner plate was swollen and purple. He could feel the sharp edges of at least three fractured ribs that must have been grinding together causing an extreme amount of pain.

Azerick winced internally at the sight of the injury. “I need to bandage these ribs immediately. That should help keep them from moving about as much. I can also make a poultice to numb the tissue and take down the swelling.”

Toron simply nodded as Azerick used the last of his water to make a paste out of some of the herbs he carried. He then tore several shirts, almost the last of the spare clothing that any of them possessed, into long strips. He applied the paste in a thick glob over the injury then wrapped the linen strips tightly over it and around the minotaur’s broad chest.

Azerick paused tying off the bandage as his breath caught. He was reminded of the first time he had met Delinda after his first fight and how she had treated a similar injury of his. With great effort, Azerick pushed this memory down where he collected and stored the other traumatic experiences of his life. The young sorcerer still had a duty to perform. His mourning would have to wait a bit longer.

“I wish I could do more for you but that’s the best I can do for now,” Azerick told him.

“I thank you for your help. It feels better already.”

“Just try to avoid any fighting for a few weeks,” Azerick advised humorously.

“Only if fighting avoids us,” Toron rumbled without a hint of mirth.

Azerick walked next to Zeb as they negotiated their way through the underground labyrinth of tunnels.

“I had to use the last of my water making a poultice for Toron. How is everyone else doing?” he asked the captain.

“Not good. Even drinking sparingly, this will be the last day any of us will have so much as a drop,” Zeb reported worriedly.

“As we near the surface we should find water as it seeps through the ground above and feeds the natural aquifers below. Every stalagmite and stalactite you see was formed by dripping water and minerals,” came Toron’s deep voice from behind them.

Azerick added, “All we can do is keep going and hope that we find an underground spring or pool.”

At the next short rest break Azerick, Zeb, and Balor collected every skin and jug that held any amount of water and consolidated it before passing it around, giving an equal amount to each person. When the last person drank their mouthful, the last of the water was completely depleted. Unless they found water soon their exodus may well come to an ignoble end.

The small company marched until the weakest among them became too exhausted to continue before stopping for another long rest. Everyone’s throat was parched and people were becoming irritable and despondent, but their common cause helped keep them together. Another obstacle presented itself about three hours into the day’s march. The tunnel they were following suddenly came to an abrupt end.

“Damn all the dark luck to the abyss!” Zeb cursed in frustration. “The last time the tunnel branched was where we started this morning!”

A young man by the name of Derran stepped towards the wall, craning his neck up to try and glimpse the top of the cavern that was hidden in darkness. Derran was the youngest sailor and former slave among them, a lad of only sixteen. He was known for his keen eyesight and was often put on watch duty in the crow’s nest when they were at sea.

 “I think the tunnel might continue up there. It looks a little darker towards the top than the surrounding rock,” he said, sharing his observation. “This wall don’t look too hard to climb. I’ll scramble up there and take a closer look.”

Derran found some suitable handgrips and hiked one leg up, pushing off with it as soon as he found a secure foothold. He brought his other leg up and began to scale the rough rock face. The young sailor suddenly let out a yelp of surprise and appeared to levitate up the wall.

Without hesitating to think, Azerick ran forward, leapt as high as he could, and grabbed hold of the belt strapped around Derran’s waist and pulled himself up, climbing the lad’s back like it was cargo netting. Whatever had a hold of Derran was reeling both young men up the side of the wall like an angler landing a fish.

“When we get to the top grab the ledge as tightly as you can,” Azerick spoke into his ear as he climbed higher up Derran’s back.

The two humans were nearly twenty feet above the cave floor when they reached the edge of the tunnel that continued above the gathered humans at the base of the wall. Azerick’s head appeared over the ledge first and stared into the black bulbous eyes of some strange chitin-covered creature.

A long, black, ropey tongue-like appendage extended between two large mandibles had attached itself to Derran and was reeling them in. Not wanting to wait until they came within reach of the pair of massive claws the creature wielded, Azerick let loose a powerful blast of lightning right at the creature’s open mouth. Both humans dropped as the creature released its hold on its prey with a loud screech of pain. Fortunately, the young sailor had the presence of mind to grasp the ledge before they both fell painfully to the floor below.

“Do you have a good grip?” Azerick asked the struggling young man under him.

“Not good enough if you don’t get off my back in the next few seconds,” he grunted.

Azerick grabbed at the rough floor of the cave and pushed off Derran’s shoulders until he was able to get his center of gravity over the ledge and safely onto the cave floor. He spun around on his stomach, grabbed Derran’s wrists, and helped pull him up over the ledge. The two young men sat on the ledge a moment to catch their breath.

“Hey, you two all right up there?” Zeb called up from below.

Azerick poked his head over the edge and answered. “Yeah, we’re fine. Derran was right, the passage continues up here.”

“Well if you’re done foolin’ around with the local wildlife maybe you can help get the rest of us up.”

Azerick could see Zeb’s teeth shining in the light he carried and knew the old coot was teasing him. He would get everyone else up in a moment but first he wanted to make sure there were no more surprises waiting for them up here. Derran drew one of the gnome picks from his belt as Azerick stepped towards the creature that now lay dead on its back.

“Oh man that thing stinks,” Derran complained, drawing his arm over his nose.

He looked it over as Azerick conjured up another light to get a better look at what lay behind it. The tunnel continued for as far as the sorcerer’s light could illuminate. Azerick turned around and walked back towards the edge with the intention of bringing everyone else up. He saw Derran digging his fingers into a large crack that his lightning bolt had rent in the creature’s hard carapace. Before Azerick could say anything, the lad drew out a large piece of white flesh that the intense heat of the lightning bolt cooked and stuffed it into his mouth.

“Hey, it tastes kind of like crab! Needs butter though,” he remarked.

“Great, if you don’t die from poisoning we can eat some fresh meat tonight.”

“You think it’s poisonous,” Derran asked as he stopped chewing, his words muffled by the meat stuffed in his cheeks.

Azerick grinned at him. “Probably not but I think the rest of us will wait a bit before joining you for dinner.”

Derran shrugged his shoulders and began chewing again, figuring if the meat was poisonous it was too late to spit it out now. At least he would die with a warm meal in his stomach. Azerick stepped near the edge of the cave and cast his magical doorway to get the rest of the group up to the top.

Further exploration revealed a small pool of water about a hundred feet further back down the tunnel. It was more of a puddle than a pool. Dripping water had formed a bowl in the floor of the cave about three feet across and three inches deep. By the time everyone drank their fill and refilled everything that could hold water, there was less than half an inch of the cool water left. The water had a strong taste of minerals but it was cool and refreshing and no one was about to complain. Derran did not yet feel any ill effects from eating the cave creature so Azerick used his magic to cook the meat that the sailors and women cut from the carcass.

Although they had only been marching a few hours today, they all decided that this would be a good place to rest and recuperate from their long ordeal before continuing their journey. Since there was no night or day in this subterranean abyss, the group did not need to wait for the sun to rise before marching on. After several hours of rest, they were ready to resume their quest to the surface.

Near the end of the next day, excited whispering began to circulate among the refugees as a faint draft became evident within the tunnel. The whispers broke into wild cheering when one of the lead men shouted back that there was light up ahead. Azerick, Zeb, Toron, and the rest of the weary runaway slaves raced towards the orange glow and fresh air that streamed into the tunnel from a large cleft partway up the side of a large mountain range.

It was apparent that the sun was just setting and that they would spend one last night sheltered in the confines of the cave but with a jubilation not felt since they had escaped their captors. Azerick sat with his back to the fire that burned brightly, made from wood foraged from the forest below, and stared out at the clear, star-filled night.

“You did it, lad,” Zeb said quietly as he took a seat next to the young sorcerer. “You gave these people hope, you gave them their freedom.”

“Maybe there is something else waiting for me other than a life of anger and vengeance. What are you going to do now, Zeb?”

“Find a port and a ship I guess. That’s all I really know. I imagine some of the other lads will follow me. Some may be done with sailing, not as I could blame them.”

“I guess we will see soon enough,” Azerick said.

“Yep.”

CHAPTER
8

Everyone woke early to watch what they all considered to be the most glorious sunrise of their lives. Men, women, and minotaur stared at the glowing horizon and watched in hushed anticipation as the ultimate symbol of freedom crested over the distant hills. Some wept, some hugged those next to them, all felt their spirits brighten as the soft golden rays of the great fiery orb burned away the darkness; not just from the land but from their own souls.

Azerick turned to look at his old captain. “I would appreciate any advice you could offer on just what we do from here.”

Zeb gave him a half smile and a soft grunt. “I’m not much of a land lubber but I know everything ends up in the ocean eventually. I say we find the nearest river or stream and follow the flow. We’ll either find a settlement of some kind or the sea. I’ve been up and down Valaria’s coast a thousand times since I was a cabin boy and I reckon I’d be able to tell ya pretty much where we are from the look of the coastline. Assuming we’re in Valaria that is.”