The Codex Lacrimae: The Book of Tears

Chapter 2: Death in the Crystal Caves

From Clarinda's vantage, the next day's march was so uneventful that she repeatedly distracted herself by daydreams. She yearned to break from the company and transport herself to the Norn grottoes, and imagined herself reclining on the flow-rock in Mimir's Sanctum, sipping hot honeymead, and making some progress toward finding answers to her questions. If those answers weren't forthcoming from the reticent Seer or the Witches of Fate, at least she could be productive and research in the musty tomes and parchments of the scriptorium.

Why didn't she just go? Whatever she did while back in the Norn Grottoes would surely be more productive than this journey, and she knew that she could return to Andvari's group well before it reached its destination.

Anything would be better than this long, boring march!

The first eight hours were filled with nothing but a descent down a narrow, dimly lit, and steadily declining grey tunnel which induced a feeling of claustrophobia. There wasn't any room for walking on either side of the wagons, let alone pulling over for a proper rest stop where she could try to speak again with Aurelius.

She was irritated with him, too. Contrary to her expectations after the warmth he'd shown last night, this morning upon breaking camp, he'd stayed with the men. Once the caravan set off upon the subterranean road, there hadn't been a chance for anyone to move forward or backward from his or her respective places in line.

So stuck near the rear and walking slightly behind Traeg, Clarinda fingered the jewels of the Brisinga necklace beneath her tunic and fantasized about disappearing.

She sighed each time she felt this urge to leave, knowing she'd do nothing of the sort. She couldn't. Primo, she hadn't yet explained to Aurelius all the aspects of the Brisinga necklace (and how the Codex Lacrimae adversely affected it). If she just disappeared, he'd rightly believe that she was keeping more secrets from him. Secondo, she didn't want him or anyone else suspecting that her purpose was anything other than escorting Santini to Mimir's Well.

She just needed to be patient, endure this tunnel until the end, and then find a way to get Santini to Mimir's Well after they passed through the Kristallhöllen. From that moment, she'd be able to rely on the Norns and Mimir to give what advice they could. Yet, even that thought brought up the terzo problem: Ratatosk's warning that the Witches of Fate and the Seer conspired against Santini.

She wanted to give the three sisters the update they'd requested, but her confidence in them had been shaken by the squirrel's words outside Andvari's cottage. Who should she believe anymore? She shrugged, knowing that constantly double-thinking everything would result in madness, and ultimately believing that she already knew the answer—she had to trust her heart and instincts; both were telling her to stay the course she'd charted with the Norns.

Andvari stopped the group when they came to an area where a bright light shone around the corner just ahead. The intersection seemed to be a major crossroads, the road they'd entered on splitting into four different directions. Three of the paths passed out of sight into side tunnels. However, the light that emanated from the fourth path—the road directly ahead—was so intense that just its reflection off the granite walls it hurt Clarinda's eyes.

Two rivers rushed along the walls on each side of the road that led into the glowing chamber, the waters black and cold-looking as they apparently rushed into the base of the rock walls themselves.

"We're here, my friends," the arch-mage said. He moved to the long wagons and directed Suđri and Vestri to start unbinding the wrappings on the starglassen. "Those waters are the beginning of the Underjordisk Elv—the Underground Rapids—and they feed into the great Døkk River that we'll be coming upon tomorrow, after we pass through the Kristallhöllen today."