Summoned to a Shattered World

Birthright Chapter 42 - The Search Begins

From the depths of my slumber, I heard someone repeating my name within my own head. As my consciousness returned, I realised it was Elmidath. I opened my eyes to find that it was daylight. When had I fallen asleep? It must have been quite a while ago but I felt exhausted. There was a terrible taste in my mouth and my head ached; I'd much rather go back to bed but Elmidath was relentless. "What do you want?"

"Finally. What have you been doing?"

"I was asleep."

"Whatever, just get over here already."

Much as I'd rather stay, her tone brooked no argument and I appeared beside her. But I didn't end up in her room as I would have expected, instead I found myself in the darkness of the tunnels again. I stumbled and caught myself on the wall. Elmidath spared just enough attention to glare at me before turning back to Tagath. He was holding a thin steel plate covered in strange designs. Hands tightly clasped, Elmidath took a deep breath. "You can really use this to find my father?" It sounded like it wasn't the first time she'd asked, presumably she was seeking confirmation partially for my benefit.

"I haven't had much opportunity to test it as I thought you'd want to hear about it the moment I'd finished it, but I believe it should work."

"Why didn't you mention this sooner? There was really no reason to keep it a secret." She sounded both outraged and hopeful.

"I wasn't sure if I'd actually be able to make it or not, so I thought it best not to get your hopes up under false pretences. But that time has passed, here." He handed her the metal plate and pointed toward a blue-grey dot. "I'm afraid the actual navigation system is rather complex but this should indicate his current location."

She stared hard at the device, seemingly frozen in place. I was opening my mouth to ask if she was okay when she spoke. "Then..." She maintained a stern visage but her voice was choked and she sounded on the verge of tears. "He's still alive?"

"It's difficult to say for certain at this stage, but I believe there's a strong possibility."

Elmidath frowned, her brows furrowed in confusion. "This makes it look like he's down here somewhere. Or am I not reading it correctly?"

"No, that's right. He appears to be somewhere within the network of tunnels, though a long way from here."

"I see." Elmidath blinked. "And we can use this to find him?"

"That's right."

She hugged the thin metallic slate to her chest and jabbed a finger in my direction. "Run back to the manor and tell Korzan that we'll be leaving for a while. She's to have the servants prepare our provisions immediately. Then bring them down here and make sure there's enough for Tagath."

"But-"

"Now!"

I jogged out of the workroom, trying to remember the way back to the surface through the haze of sleep that still enveloped my mind. Why did this have to happen now? The tension and exercise were making me feel even more ill. It's not like we had to leave now anyway. He'd been gone a long time already; he could wait a while longer. Not that there was the slightest chance of Elmidath listening to that; I knew her well enough to realise that much.

She didn't talk about it often but her father's disappearance was clearly something that had deeply affected her. It didn't make much sense to me, but I also couldn't deny the reality of it. Well, there was no sense keeping her waiting. Hurrying back into the manor I sought out Korzan and explained what was happening. She looked a little annoyed that I was giving her yet more work, but she organised the servants and got our travelling provisions ready in short order while I got myself ready to go. She handed me a bag. "Any idea how long you'll be gone this time?"