Beyond the Rabbit Hole

Despair

Morgyn's gaze hovered over the chasm as he followed the other survivors along the narrow path.

"Is this it?" Bjurrin asked. He stood beside a crevice on the crater wall. The crevice was only a few feet wide, and sharp rocks jutted out from the inside, preventing more than one person from going in at a time.

Benard stepped forward to inspect the crevice. "It's a little narrower than I remember, but I think so."

"Thank the moons and their generosity," Charles exclaimed. "Now let me through. I've grown weary of all this fighting." He tossed his axe aside and pushed through the mercenaries.

Eleanor's mouth hung open, betrayal twisting her face.

Halic let out a light sigh. "You didn't do any fighting."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Lord Desira," Barbarossa said. "We don't know if it's safe yet. It could be even more dangerous in there than out here."

Charles pulled his hand back from the crevice in hesitation. "Th-that's true."

"Someone should go inside first with a torch to inspect the cave and see if it's safe for the rest of us," Barbarossa added.

"And what if it isn't safe?" Morgyn asked.

"That person would shout to the rest of us through the crevice that it isn't safe, so everyone else can flee to hopefully find a better route."

"Then that person would just be a sacrifice!" Valentina's voice trembled. "Are you still so callous as to throw your men's lives away when they've struggled so hard to survive?"

"If you have a better suggestion, I'm more than willing to hear it," Barbarossa replied coldly. "As I said before, this isn't something I enjoy doing, but it's necessary for the survival of the group. The path is too narrow for us to send in more than one person at a time, and if we send in people to save the scout, we could just be sending them in to their unnecessary deaths."

Bjurrin rolled his eyes. "And who pray tell were you planning to send?"

"I will go myself," Barbarossa replied without hesitation.

The other mercenaries were silent as they stared at him, eyes narrowed.

"Don't look so surprised," Barbarossa snickered. "It's the obvious choice. We can't send the clients or miss Valentina for several reasons, and I am the weakest fighter otherwise. Besides, my role in the group has been usurped, and I am not much help outside of command. Surely you won't complain if I'm the sacrificial pawn?"

Bjurrin's brow furrowed as he met the former commander's gaze. "If this is your way of apologizing and making amends-"

Barbarossa let out a sharp laugh. "I have nothing to apologize for. I stand by everything I've said and done to keep us alive."

"I think we should let him go," Charles huffed. "Who knows how long we'll be able to survive out here if we run into any more of those monsters."

Barbarossa nodded at him. "Thank you, Lord Desira."

"And why should we trust you with this?" Halic spat. Anger flared in his nostrils and creased his brow. "You might use this opportunity to stab us in the back."

"And how would I do that?" Barbarossa shrugged. "Send whoever you want, but we can't afford to lose Bjurrin, Benard, or Serana right now, so it shouldn't be them."