Delmora: The Lost Quest

Tired Secrets

Morn's eyes were hardly closed when a noise snapped him awake. He looked towards the tunnel and then around at the others who tossed and turned, equally restless. Their breath rose and fell under their blankets. Morn caught Lance's confused gaze.

"did you hear that?" Morn whispered.

The darkness of the night was starting to fade. Faint outlines of golden hazy sky loomed over the mountain. The moon was losing its glow.

"I heard something" Lance said.

"It was a bark, it came from the tunnel" There was a light in Morn's eyes.

"lets not rush to conclusions it could be a stray-" Lance was cut short by a silhouetted figure coming out of the tunnel. Tail high in the hair, Biter pawed her way carefully down the rocks as fast as she could. She was limping. Morn scrambled out of his blanket and ran to her before she reached the bottom.

Simone and Tyler were woken by the commotion.

"She's hurt" Morn said. Lance could tell he was trying to keep back his emotions but he might as well have been shaking.

Her tail wagged furiously making her whole body shake back and forth. She placed all of her weight on three paws and held her front left one awkwardly delicate on the ground. The red handkerchief that had previously been tied to it was gone. In it's place was a clumsily made caste made from harder cloth. On her neck was a rope-like collar made of the same cloth and equally shoddy.

Morn reached for her injured paw but Biter flinched away. He picked her up and brought her to the long dead fire pit and placed her next to Simone.

"She made it" Tyler murmured under his breath, almost in disbelief.

Simone's eyes snapped from its sleepiness and instantly his brows furrowed. He scanned Biter's wound without saying a word and moved to get things from his large bags.

"Where's Edith?" Lance asked. He was standing next to the rocky tunnel mouth looking into its depths but saw no light. Tyler got up and walked over to join him.

"I'm sure her torch must have gone out by now." Tyler said.

"But only she could have put those bandages on Biter" Lance argued.

"In the dark?"

"Kazfara ino Minark"  A voice in the cave uttered the words but neither Lance nor Tyler understood it's meaning. It was said in such a hushed tone they almost missed the voice entirely. They gawked into the mouth scanning the abyss.

"I'm right here you bloody idiots." Edith's voice rang out so loud and suddenly it made both Tyler and Lance jump. They could still see nothing but darkness in the cave. The voice echoed from seemingly far away and cut short. They heard only one sound like something had fallen in the cave. It reverberated off the walls. 

Tyler and Lance looked at each other with the same instinct to dash through the cave.

"Don't"

The unsettling calm voice of The Ranger made them jump even higher. They looked up at the same time. The Ranger was sitting silently on the rocky side of the mountain where the tunnel gave way. He sat motionless, his cloak picking up the early morning breeze.

"just about had my heart pop out my chest" Tyler said, he clutched his heart and took in deep breaths.

Lance's hand was on his sword, half drawn and eyes wide.

"what do you mean don't? She could be hurt" Lance said his expression getting angry.

"wait until you see her." The Ranger said.