Mystoria: Trail of Thorns (Cancelled)

Chapter 4 (Posted 10-14-2020)

Chapter 4

Chronology: [3]

POV: [Mia]

Probable Chapter: [4]

Chapter or Part [#]: [?name?]

"It-it's house Aker." Tomlin said as he sat down, tea in hand. He didn't expect the girl to take the news calmly, though for a minute it seemed that she might. When he noticed the sound of boiling liquid was coming from her teacup, he moved the books on the table a few feet further from her. Just in case it started boiling over.

"Mmhmm. M-Mia, your tea-y-your tea is boiling."

The angry Tel'ani girl looked down at the cup in her hands. "Hmm."

Tomlin decided to wait until she calmed down a bit more. As helpfully noted by the bubbles in the tea. "It would seem that the-that the move was political and not racial. If that-if that helps."

Mia took a deep breath. "It doesn't."

"What now?"

"I should kill him."

"That would be-likely be suicide."

"Mnn." Mia leaned back in her chair staring at her tea. "Were you followed?"

Now he could see the gears start to turn. "Do you think the guild-that the guild would let me run a branch if I couldn't-if I couldn't lose a tail?"

Mia shook her head. "I have no idea... I could go to Peletan if I had some evidence."

"Better to go with-go with gold."

"Mnn right."

"My advice would be to-be to take back one of-of-of your holdings in the backcountry and-and-and live your life."

"Mmmm." Mia steepled her hands in front of her face like one too many villains from Tomlin's library. "Or I could take some holding and use it to build an army. Moving inward gaining momentum while simultaneously destroying the power base of my enemies."

He sighed. "Or-or-or you could do-you could do that."

Tomlin, would you happen to have a map?"

Tomlin cocked an eyebrow.

"Sorry. May I borrow your maps."

Mia lifted the pages, dropped them, then went through them again. Several overlayed maps showed different things. Some maps showed the same things in different places. Cartography wasn't a perfect art, but it was useful. Mia put her finger down onto old parchment showing even older places.

"Now that's a name."

Tomlin looked up from his book. "Name?"

"Raven-Hold. I wonder if the fortress is still there."

Tomlin eyed the parchment, but didn't really see much more than the symbol of a tower and a small block of text. "Pre-Derik. What-what's important about the name?"

"I need a new name. Raven-Hold just has that..." she paused. "That poetic ring to it."

"I don't-I don't see it."

"Can I have these maps?"

"Ha! You can make-make copies."

Mia pouted, but Tomlin just pointed her to a supply closet and returned to reading.

The heavy trap door creaked loudly when Tomlin pulled it open. Its strained wine echoed into the black tunnels.

"More hidden passages?"

Tomlin set the heavy door down as lightly as he could. "Smugglers tunnels."

"What the hell are you smuggling?"

"People, goods, food. This was in-was back in Sarak's reign. Haven't been down here-down here in ages." He gave the ladder a test yank and, apparently satisfied, descended into the hole. "Come on then."

Mia clenched her fists together a few times before taking a deep breath and following.

"Do you think Akerson knows about these tunnels?" Mia whispered.

"Guaranteed."

"What if we walk into a trap?"

"Then we will-we'll have to fight."

Mia frowned. She kept her eyes focused on the edge of the cone of light emanating from Tomlin's lantern. "There's someone in here." She whispered into Tomlin's ear.

"Mmhmm. Don't stare at-at-at anyone ok."

"You mean people live in here?"

"Shhh."

Something she couldn't see moved on her left. She pressed in close to Tomlin as they neared the light from a candle. The tunnel widened into something closer to the size of a large room. The walls were lined with slumping forms. The dirty grey skin and heavy body of an orc melted out of the shadows. Mia kept her head down, her eyes on the ground, and her tail close to her body. Only then did she notice that the smaller forms moving in the darkness were goblins. Small things with leathery skin, oversized ears and eyes, and mouths that split fully across their wide faces in an evil rictus grin.

Back into tunnels. Back into the darkness. Now somehow less scary than the light. Mia squeezed Tomlin's arm.

"What?" He asked, his voice low.

"Why are there goblins in here?"

Mia thought she might have seen the man smirk. "There are goblins in-goblins everywhere Mia. They are the rats of the-like the rats of the sentient races."

"And orcs?"

"Escaped slaves."

"What about..."

Tomlin cut her off with a finger pressed to his lips. "Shhh."

The tunnels moved on. The rooms full of humans, orcs, goblins, elves. Sometimes huddled in corners. Sometimes in something that looked like a tavern. And then, mercifully, there was an exit. The salt tinged smell of the sea. The aroma of rotting seaweed dead fish, and unbathed men. The dockside taverns loud and obnoxious. The creaking of ships as they sat in port, the waves lapping against their wooden hulls.

"This way." Tomlin said, pulling Mia by the arm.

Another few block and onto the docks where Tomlin greeted a grilled old man with nothing more than a nod and climbed into a small boat. Mia's cold fingers held onto the sides of the little rowboat in a death grip. With every stroke the old man made she felt certain the rocking little thing would roll, dumping her into the brackish waters of the river and pushing her out to sea. She had been on a boat once. A thousand times this thing's size and firmly docked at port. She preferred the dark tunnels. She could defend herself there. She could handle the orcs and goblins. Handle the darkness and claustrophobia, but this. The only thing between her and certain death was some shaped wood and the old man making it move away from the ocean. Once she was back on land she would have to vow never to leave it again.