The Birth of Madness

Chapter 9 - Counterattack

In short order, the captain managed to lead them to the secret tunnel, disguised behind a shelf in the back of a storeroom. The guards followed them as they prepared to leave, thanking them for their bravery or saying prayers to their faiths. Ashi tried to tune it out.

Rune seemed at ease, talking to a few of the guards. She took the opportunity to get a better look at him.

The long green cloak remained the most notable feature, while his short hair was gray, in stark contrast to how young his face looked. Under the cloak, he wore a white shirt that fit tightly, and gray pants clasped by a black belt. If it weren't for the hair, she would have guessed late 20s, but she was instead pushed towards late 30s. And an incredibly stressful life. Though, she thought with a small smirk, they might say the same about her and her hair. Maybe the gray hair was just natural. She supposed there were weirder things in her life.

Noticing her looking, Rune smiled back at her, and she looked away with a small frown. She didn't want him getting the wrong impression – the right impression being, after she managed to slip away, that she hoped to never deal with him again. The only question was how she was going to slip away.

Rune stepped next to her, and the captain, with some help, managed to heave the secret door open, revealing a short staircase down into a dark passage. The sound of dripping could be heard.

"Miss Ashi, wait!" a voice called out, and turning she saw a guard running to her with – of all things – the spear. "You almost forgot your spear." He passed to her, and Ashi stared down at it in a moment of mild frustration before nodding and turning around again. She was almost free of this.

"Good luck," the captain solemnly intoned. "The people of Klam shall await your victory."

"Right, right," Ashi waved dismissively. "Let's not waste any more time." And she descended into the earth.

Rune followed, and the door was heaved shut, leaving them in near-total darkness.

"Ah, right, a torch," Rune said, almost to himself. Raising his voice, "Did you bring a light?" Ashi looked back at him quizzically, and he blinked at her. "Your eyes glow..."

"It's just a straight line, this level of light is fine," and with that, she started making her way forward across the dim ground.

Rune followed, hesitantly, though Ashi almost wished he had been too afraid of the dark to continue. Though, as she walked, she realized there were no actual sources of light here, and she couldn't remember a time she'd been in a dark she couldn't slightly see through. Perhaps she could see in the dark?

She stopped and turned around again, and Rune stopped in turn. "Can you see anything?"

"No?" he replied, clearly not expecting the question. "Except for your eyes, when you turn around," he added after, "They look like they glow, but I don't think they're actually emitting any light."

Ashi looked at him silently for a moment, before sighing. Then, realization.

It was dark. He couldn't see. And if he was dead, there would be no obstacle to her managing an escape. Her impossible promise could be left unfulfilled, and she could escape.

"While we're standing here," Rune rocked on his feet, back and forth, "I wanted to suggest a plan."

"A plan?" Ashi repeated, fingers playing with her sword.

"Right. I'm not questioning your competency, but taking all of the Aulins head on is a very dangerous proposition. But, since we're approaching from a direction they won't expect, we have a new option."

Ashi was on the verge of using his voice as the cover for her sword swing, but the potential of another way was appealing, especially as Ashi realized her food was in her bag, which meant leaving could very well mean her starving in the middle of nowhere. So, she calmed her fingers, and with a deep breath, "What are you suggesting?"