The End is Near

Chapter 17

16 July 2045 – Caves

The cave opening wasn't one that would inspire me to enter. It was a pretty creepy-looking, narrow entrance that vines grew thickly all around. A closer inspection revealed that it was a particularly itchy one that I had no name for.

Gwydd gestured and the vines parted enough for us to pass through. "Great...dark...cold...," I muttered. He took my hand and led the way. I stumbled along behind him while he seemed to be able to see the way just fine. "Do you hear that?" I whispered. "Sounds like scuttling sounds...do you think there's rats in here?"

"Unlikely," he finally responded, "lots of beetles, spiders...maybe centipedes...but not likely rats..."

I glared in the direction of his back, wishing there was enough light so he could see just how unimpressed I was by that answer. The walls pressed in, brushing along both sides of us and at some point we had to crouch to make our way through. Why would anyone choose to live in here?

I'm not sure how long we walked but it took a long time before the passages opened up. I only knew they had because at some point he caused a glowing orb to float above our heads. Yayyy! Light! I had wanted to use my magick to do something similar from the time we entered but the attitudes of these folk to anything to do with outsiders had made me decide against it.

It certainly took him long enough to decide to do it.

There were three openings in front of us, each leading off into a different direction. Instead of choosing one, the Seventh put up his hood and set himself solidly in the middle. "We have come to see the Lord of the Deeps," he intoned. Now that I knew what he looked like, the tone made me stifle a giggle.

Somehow his voice seemed to carry deep into the tunnels, each one echoing him back again and again. "Can I try?" I asked. The echoes fascinated me. Even though the hood hid his expression I could have sworn he was amused when he spread his hand wide in a sort of "...as you wish..."

I stepped forward, set myself and said exactly the same thing. Nothing happened. I narrowed my eyes at him. Was it the spot he was in? I pushed him (gently enough) out of the way. He must not have been standing properly because he stumbled and almost fell before catching himself. I did it again. Exact spot. Same result.

"You used some sort of magick, didn't you?" I rounded on him accusingly. His shoulders lifted in a shrug and he pointed back at the passage. Only then did I realize we had an audience. The blood rushed to my cheeks as I wondered how long they'd been there.

The stout male was dressed as a warrior and didn't seem to be amused. What did I know about nuances of expression for this type of people? "You wish to see the Lord?" he asked.

"Yes." The Seventh said. "We come as supplicants before the Ruler of the Deeps and Keeper of Secrets. We come without magick or guile."

The warrior looked up at the glowing orb and raised his eyebrows. The Seventh spread his hands as if to say 'what was I supposed to do?' The warrior remained impassive. Yes, these people were not going to be easy to read.

The warrior turned on his heel and started walking towards the left-most branch of the caves. The light was left behind us as we followed. Since the cave was wider at this point the Seventh and I walked side by side. It was a struggle to think of him as Gwydd once the hood had been pulled up and he was now 'the Seventh' in my head. Maybe that was a good thing if I had this secret I was supposed to be keeping about his identity.

The darkness was not absolute. At some point we came to walls that glowed with just enough light for us to see ahead. The path went on, meandering gradually until we came into a cavern that held more light. It was a huge space and the light seemed to be reflections of mirror-bright surfaces – walls, roof and floor each had areas with that polished shine. Where is the origin point of the light though? I shook my head, re-focused.