10 Minute Tales

Jun 26 - Mountain Town

They walked deep into the tunnel. Bats flitted around their head, desperate for food but repulsed by the odorous spray they had applied.

"How much longer is this going to take?" one sighed, shaking her feet as she walked. "My feet are killing me!"

"Relax." another commented, tugging on his cap briefly. "We won't be too far off from the town now."

"Remind me why we're going?" the third of the party asked, looking behind him. He saw the figure of a beast disappear into the shadows behind them. He shuddered and caught up with the rest.

"There's an inn up ahead. We'll be able to rest there, nurse our wounds, so on."

"Thank goodness." the woman smiled, resting against the wall to rub at her ankle. "We'll go to the arena too, right? Mister musclehead over there needs to prove his strength."

"I'm not a musclehead!"

"Don't worry, we'll be going there too. Well, you guys can, I still need to resupply."

"Yeah! You get your food, we'll do our best in there!"

"Wait, you're not coming?" the third member looked at the leader. "We could do with your supplies."

"Come on, I'll have more when you come back out. You don't need me for this one, do you?"

"I mean... I'd rather you were there at all, but I guess I'm the main fighter..."

"Yeah, I just curse people stupid." the woman grinned, raising her hand. A flicker of purple fire danced around the tips of her finger, extinguishing quickly. The leader sighed quietly.

"And you're very good at it, I have to confess. I only wish you restrained your power a little." She just giggled in response, skipping a little.  They rounded one more corner and came across a large cavern. They couldn't see the sky, but the area was illuminated brilliantly by large, reflective crystals. There were little wisps of fire dancing around among them, the light from even these scant glows reflecting and refracting, casting a gentle light down onto the town below. The buildings had been hewn from the very rock that surrounded them, the rough, angular architecture broken only by the rushing river below. It was suspended far below the rest of the city; however, they could make out ropes travelling up and down, bringing buckets of water up to the people who needed them. A larger fire wisp was captured in a simple bottle and dangled over a simple crop field. It was beautiful, despite its unorthodox construction.

"Wow..." the third member muttered, looking around. "This is something else."

"Yeah." the leader agreed. "Who would have guessed that there would be a beautiful sight like this, buried so far underground?"

"Come on, let's keep moving." the woman skipped ahead. "I can see the inn from here!"

"The inn? You're seeing what we're seeing, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, beautiful, the majesty of nature, whatever." she shrugged. "I can appreciate that when I'm not hungry."

"Well put." He nodded. "Let's go." The other two set off after her as she strode eagerly into the town. Finally, a chance for them to rest, to resupply. This was overdue.