Moonshadow (Book 1 of the Torrent Skies Saga)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

They walked for hours.

Exhaustion tugged at Katerin's mind. The travel here had been less than slow and easy, and she doubted she would find any sleep this night. She had her share of sleepless nights, of course, but this once-lively town was now eerily quiet, and it pulled at her. An integral part was missing—loud hammers on stone and anvil. The smell of smoke and sweat.

The stone around her was dark and solid in the tunnel. It kept her checking over her shoulder every other moment. They heard the dwarves before they ever found them, listening to the loud echoing sound of pickaxes reverberating down the tunnel. Tink, clank, tink, clank, tink, clank, in perfect time and harmony. Like a symphony in its own strange right, rising to a crescendo and falling once more. It seemed the entire population of dwarves was down here, from the sounds at least.

The dwarves moved quickly across the stone like so many ants, hauling water, tools, and supplies to their companions. A number of fires were set up in a large cavern in the tunnel. They could easily make out several dozen sleeping forms—some sat by fires and drank, others tended said fires and stirred pots. A side chamber revealed rough cots and more prone forms, these coughing or groaning. A human man with a white shirt and close-cropped hair tended to them, mixing herbs and talking in low, reassuring tones to them.

The dwarves recognized Fykes quickly and welcomed the group without hesitation. As he and Arjiah moved off to talk to them, Katerin approached the healer.

She recognized him from her first visit to Anklestrap. Derhk was a kind, soft-spoken man and very skilled in his craft, despite his lack of magic. He nodded to her as she approached, and met her just outside of the alcove, glancing over his shoulder with worry in his eyes as another cough echoed.

"What happened?" she asked him, looking at the number of full cots.

He frowned. "Mostly it's exhaustion or lack of sustenance. They've been working on empty too long." His voice was soft, and quiet, but it held a deep rumble.

"Can I help?"

He considered her for a moment. "If you have any food or herbs of any kind, it would be appreciated."

She pulled several things from her bag, handing them over to him. She kept a bare minimum of what they might need to survive, and she kept a stash of herbs for their use in spell rituals. "Sorry I don't have more," she said.

His eyes went wide as he looked over the supplies she had just handed over without question. "I'll put them to the best possible use."

"I know. Do you know where Beymor is?"

Derhk shook his head. "He's been at the front for... at least a few days now. I haven't seen him."

"The front?"

"They're digging a new tunnel." He pointed down a straight but narrow passage in the stone, the sound seeming to echo from deeper within it. "He's overseeing it. Exhausted as anyone here, I'm sure."

"Why are they pushing so hard?"

"They weren't allowed to leave by the front gates, so they're making their own way. If they just stay here... we'll all starve to death."

Katerin's stomach twisted. It seemed so wrong, to put people in a place like this. "Thank you," she said, turning away before her emotions got the better of her.

Fykes was walking towards her from a nearby cook fire. "You ready to go?" His voice was hard, angry.

"Of course," she said, giving him an apologetic look. She knew that he knew most of these dwarves quite well, and seeing them in this state had left her displeased, so she could not imagine he was happy about it.