The sound of rushing water echoed off the walls of the narrow cavern as the two men descended into the darkness. Although it could not be called warm, the thick rock walls surrounding them went a long way toward protecting them from the chill air above. For the first time in what seemed like days, Terakiel did not have to put forth a great deal of effort to quash his shivering.
Although this particular cave was much more enclosed, Terakiel couldn't help but compare it to the Underground back in Tombolin. It had been a complex series of interconnected underground passageways that served to expand the town once the clearing above had been completely populated. Most of the town's commerce took place in the Underground, whereas dwellings and farms comprised the majority of the space above.
"We're certainly v-very far down," Aisen noted, his forehead beaded with sweat. It was clear he was uncharacteristically nervous.
"I'm sure we'll be coming to an open cavern soon," Terakiel reassured, sensing the other man's discomfort. He had no proof of any such thing, but it was disconcerting to see Aisen in such a mood since he usually exuded so much confidence.
"Yes, of course. I'm sure you're right."
Terakiel supposed the closeness of the walls and the staleness of the air might seem oppressive to some--but it was nothing he wasn't used to. He'd spent a lot of time in the Underground, helping--well, he'd spent a lot of time there. He dismissed that train of thought and redoubled his pace, not looking back to make sure Aisen was following. He felt no need to slow down so long as the dancing light illuminated the path ahead.
Before long, he felt a draft on his bare chest. They were indeed coming to a larger cavern. The relief apparent in Aisen's demeanor was palpable as he too realized what they were approaching. The path of the river snaked around a corner to the right and they emerged into a larger room, the light of the eldritch fire just barely illumating their way. Aisen lifted it a little higher to examine their new surroundings.
The cavern was quite large, although still split in half by flowing water. The left half of the cavern was more or less closed off by a complex series of damp stalactite and stalagmite formations, although Terakiel could just make out an opening to another passageway beyond them. If they wanted to risk it, they could cross the underground river and climb through a series of treacherous rock formations to make the passageway. It seemed at the very least doable, but he felt it might be wise to investigate other options first.
On the right side of cavern there were far fewer rock formations, though they were a few here and there. The ground was riddled with pools of clear water, likely from when the river overflowed. Judging by the formation of the cavern, it was likely this section of the cave was often flooded. If they chose to set up camp anywhere in the vicinity they were ran the risk of being washed away. He carefully avoided sharing these thoughts with his traveling companion, whose claustrophobia was readily apparent.
As he scanned the right side of the cavern, his eyes came to rest on yet another opening that might lead to a passageway. He motioned for Aisen to follow and made his way further alongside the water, carefully avoiding the pools on the way. The opening in the wall was some ways off the ground, but not so high that he couldn't climb his way in. Aisen lifted the flame into the mouth of the opening, revealing a tunnel that sloped slightly upward. The tunnel was small enough that only one of them could fit at a time--and it was unclear by the light of the flame how far it ran.
"Stay here; I'll see if this leads anywhere."
Aisen did not need much convincing. He illuminated the tunnel as well as he could as Terakiel pulled himself up into its mouth. Grunting, he struggled to crawl his way into the tunnel, his bare flesh scraping against its damp, rocky surface. Once he successfully pulled himself far enough in to crawl, his light source dwindled dramatically. He considered for a moment asking for the fire, but there wasn't enough room for him to turn around--and he wasn't sure he was at all comfortable with the prospect.
He resigned himself to crawling forward slowly, feeling along the walls of the tunnel. If he hit a dead end he could just slide backwards toward the entrance and let Aisen know they'd have to find another route. If, however, he came to an open area on the other side of the tunnel, he'd have to return and convince Aisen to follow, a task he did not look forward to at all. Even Terakiel felt enclosed in such small confines--he wasn't sure Aisen would be able to take it.
Still, it would likely be easier with the flame to light the way. Terakiel lost track of himself as he inched forward in total darkness. He was reminded again of the Exod, and how he'd seemed to float away from his physical body into total nothingness. It was an uncomfortable thought to ponder. As he had done before, he violently dismissed those thoughts and focused on making progress through the tunnel, probing the walls ahead of him experimentally. If anything, the tunnel was becoming tighter. He imagined he might come to a dead end soon.
"Is anything amiss?" Aisen's faraway voice floated up to his ears, echoing off the walls of the cavern and the tunnel.
"The tunnel seems as if it may come to a dead end. Give me a few moments."
Terakiel wasn't sure he could hear him as there was no reply, but he kept crawling forward. Truthfully, he dreaded the trip back down, especially if he wasn't afforded the opportunity to turn around. Inching his way back down the tunnel backwards would likely be a terrifying process. The tunnel had steadily been sloping upward for some time now; he was somewhat concerned he might begin sliding backward sooner than he'd intended.
Suddenly, he felt a rush of fresh air wash over him. Puzzled, he climbed the remainder of the tunnel with renewed fervor, momentarily ignoring the chill on his flesh and the dampness of the rough terrain beneath him. Still, the tunnel was sloping dramatically upward, and the effort of pulling himself higher was becoming more difficult than ever. His entire upper body ached with the effort of supporting himself. He couldn't stop now--there was definitely a draft of cold air coming from above, and if his failing eyesight did not deceive him, he could almost imagine outlines of his surroundings.
Were his eyes adjusting the darkness of the tunnel or was there also light ahead? He wanted to call out to Aisen to follow, but he was almost certain he could no longer hear him. It felt like a waste to turn back at that point, so he continued crawling forward, struggling not to lose his grip on the increasingly rocky terrain. Although he was sure his upper torso was outfitted with numerous new scrapes and abrasions, he was uncaring. He had enough superficial wounds on his body for a lifetime.
The tunnel had sloped upward so drastically that it was almost completely vertical. Luckily, there were numerous rock formations jutting up out of the tunnel's surface, so he had things to hang onto--but as he climbed ever higher, he was uncomfortably aware of the danger of falling. He covered more and more distance and realized uncomfortably that if he suddenly fell, it would likely be to his death. Would it even be possible to return the mouth of the tunnel to give Aisen the good news?
With absolutely no source of light, Terakiel did not fancy his chances at returning to the tunnel's entrance. He was climbing from rock to rock now, his bruised arms straining from the effort. There was no possibility of turning back--but would he make it to the exit? What if it was blocked off? He was growing very tired--it was unlikely he'd be able to keep this up for very much longer. If he did not find a place to rest soon then he might lose his grip.
There was definitely light ahead, although it was dim and unreal, an ambient light whose source was ambiguous. The outlines of the various rock formations in the tunnel became clearer and so did his pace. He was able to gauge more accurately where to place his hands to pull himself up. He had to reach the exit soon, or things could go very badly. Already his breaths were ragged and shallow, punctuated by hacks and coughs. His heart was beating wildly in protest--he had put his body through far too much strain over the past few days. He felt as if he was going to break.
He grasped onto a particularly sturdy rock outcropping and surged forward, encouraged by the light illuminating his way--and groaned in pain as his head slammed into a sheet of solid rock. He struggled to maintain his grip on the rock formation as stars swam in his field of vision. It only took him a moment to realize what had happened. He had reached a dead end.
No comments:
Post a Comment