{"id":1489,"date":"2022-02-02T10:35:48","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T17:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/Snow\/?page_id=1489"},"modified":"2022-02-15T22:28:43","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T05:28:43","slug":"chapter-13","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/Snow\/volume-ii\/part-i-past-and-present\/chapter-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 13"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/p>\n

During the hours on Wulf\u2019s ship, Qaralana told Chip more about why they were returning to their father\u2019s homeland. He\u2019d frowned at her, at first, when she told him about reaching Falskaar almost by accident.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re telling me that Jalamar was right, then? There really were screams coming from the mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded. \u201cYes. There was a Dwemer steam centurion down there that had torn the people before me apart. One of them had the key to the portal and didn\u2019t get to use it, so I tried it. I didn\u2019t know why the wall started glowing, and when I stepped toward it I went through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chip rubbed his chin. \u201cI suppose that\u2019s no more far-fetched than me chasing spirit animals all over Skyrim,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight. And it turns out there was this old prophecy, of sorts. Nobody knew how to activate the portal, but it was said that whoever came through it was called the Traveler. And \u2018when the Traveler appears, the worst begins.\u2019 Or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re the worst?\u201d He stuck his tongue out at her and grinned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI might be if you don\u2019t cut it out,\u201d she grumbled. \u201cI don\u2019t know about the prophecy, but things did start falling apart for Amber Creek not long after I got there.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the ship ploughed through the gentle sea she\u2019d tried to make the long string of events since then into some kind of comprehensible tale. It seemed to take forever, as Chip would ask a question and she would find herself needing to backtrack and insert some otherwise crucial bit of information she\u2019d forgotten to share. Finally he shook his head and snorted.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo they left you<\/em>, someone from a completely different land, to go to this unknown place all by yourself to search for the one piece of information that might make the difference between surviving as a hold and becoming a city of something not much better than slaves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that about covers it. Assuming that Yngvarr would even leave them alive. I couldn\u2019t just abandon them after promising to help. Besides,\u201d she said, shrugging, \u201cit feels like we\u2019re connected to Amber Creek somehow. I know it\u2019s pretty vague, but I just couldn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m glad you came to get one of us, then. Although something tells me you might have enjoyed Harald more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is that<\/em> supposed to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I think you know,\u201d he said, his eyes twinkling.<\/p>\n

\u201cChip!\u201d she cried, poking him in the arm. \u201cHe\u2019s just my friend<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh-huh,\u201d he said, nodding while Qara sputtered at him.<\/p>\n

Qara also explored the edges of Chip\u2019s apparent melancholy all the way from Dawnstar to the Falskaar docks. She did it quietly, at intervals, trying to learn any reason why he might be so subdued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you\u2019re wearing face paint now,\u201d she said at one point. \u201cLooks like mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

He gave her a half-hearted grin. \u201cYeah. It looks good on you; I figured it would probably look good on me as well. Although at first it was blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

She gulped. \u201cBlood? What\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Chip sighed, and paused as if trying to decide on what words he would use. \u201cRemember I told you about ending up with Hircine\u2019s bow and staff and all? It turns out that some of the Companions\u2026 were looking for Hircine artifacts as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

She frowned. \u201cThe Companions? Like the people at Jorrvaskr, the ones who are fighters?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. I ended up helping them. Ok, joining them. For the past while now. There were some\u2026 incidents. People got killed who shouldn\u2019t have gotten killed. I was angry and I did the war paint with blood and \u2026 I kind of like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had stared at him, nodding slowly. That wasn\u2019t it. That wasn\u2019t the whole story, not by half; she knew her brother well enough to know when he was not telling the whole truth. That was a trait he shared with their father.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just that Daddy is much better at it than Chip is. I\u2019m never sure when he\u2019s not telling the whole story. Chip is much easier to read.<\/em><\/p>\n

But whatever it was clearly bothered Chip a great deal, so she let the matter go for the moment. Besides, they had far more important issues to deal with in the short term. The weather deteriorated as they neared Falskaar; and they approached the docks in pouring rain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to stop in town or anything like that,\u201d she told him as they disembarked. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get to Watervine Chasm. It\u2019s off to the west, and\u2026\u201d She stopped to look her brother over, carefully. Chip had somehow grown broader of chest and arms since the last time she\u2019d seen him, and she knew he got constant practice with his bow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you staring at me like I\u2019ve grown another head?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell the fastest way for us to get there will be to climb over the mountains. It\u2019s pretty strenuous but if we can do it we\u2019ll cut a big chunk off our travel. I did it coming from the other direction when I was meeting the brothers I told you about, but I don\u2019t want to insist or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chip snorted. \u201cI can climb a mountain, sis, and I\u2019m fast. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

They ran through the wee hours, through the dripping-wet grasses, heading in what Qara hoped was the same direction she\u2019d used to find Ulgar and Svegard. They circled carefully around a giants\u2019 camp marked by a huge bonfire, and as Qara started for the incline up toward the lowest part of the ridge, Chip hissed to catch her attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cA cave. Over there. Do you suppose it goes all the way through?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm. I don\u2019t know. It might. It\u2019s worth a shot I suppose. Let\u2019s give it a try.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were wall-mounted sconces with torches alight just inside the tunnel. For a moment she wondered whether she\u2019d made a mistake, and this was the same Bearclaw Cave they\u2019d searched for the Key of Strength. But there was no camp outside, or any evidence that a firepit had been there. She would have remembered seeing a giant\u2019s bonfire. And she was almost certain they were farther south than Bearclaw.<\/p>\n

Even if it doesn\u2019t go all the way through, it\u2019ll be light by the time we get back outside. That\u2019s no small consideration on wet rocks. <\/em><\/p>\n

Inside, it was a long, winding stone tunnel they followed. Qara snuffed out each of the torches they passed so that they wouldn\u2019t be quite so easy to spot, in case anyone was there. But there were no signs of life that she could sense. After a few minutes they came out of the tunnel into an old stone fortress, and Qara looked around in confusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis\u2026 feels familiar. But I could swear I\u2019ve never been in that cave entrance before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chip sniffed. \u201cI don\u2019t smell anyone. Just decay.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hair on Qara\u2019s neck rose. \u201cYou don\u2019t smell<\/em> anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n

Chip didn\u2019t seem to notice her discomfort. \u201cNo.\u201d Then he pointed behind her, to a ladder leaning against the wall. \u201cThis goes up. We need to go up to get over the mountains, right? Let\u2019s at least see where it leads.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk. Be ready, though.\u201d Chip rolled his eyes at her.<\/p>\n

I deserved that, I suppose. He\u2019s older than I am and has done things I haven\u2019t. I don\u2019t need to tell him to be careful.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

They emerged into the early dawn, into an open guard tower of the old Imperial fortress. There was one bandit standing guard at an open doorway. He didn\u2019t last long with both Qara and Chip against him. When they stepped past the body out into the open, Qara looked around and grinned.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes! I know where we are!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s handy,\u201d Chip said sarcastically.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes it is, wiseguy. I saw this old fort off to our left as we were heading to Hjorgunnar Manor and that means that we\u2019ve made it over the mountains. If we head northwest from here and hug the north side of that ridge over there, we\u2019ll be heading straight for our destination. Let\u2019s go!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe the sun will come out, too,\u201d Chip mumbled. \u201cI\u2019m tired of smelling wet.\u201d<\/p>\n

She laughed. \u201cYou are kinda pungent, big brother. What have you been doing, hanging out in a betting den with the pit wolves?\u201d<\/p>\n

He grinned. \u201cSomething like that, yeah.\u201d He started loping ahead, just fast enough to take him out of her earshot.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to find out what you\u2019re keeping from me. You think you\u2019re such a sly dog running away like that but I\u2019ll figure it out.<\/em><\/p>\n

It did in fact clear up as they ran through the high meadows. At one point when they stopped to catch their breath Chip looked around at the now sun-drenched environment and sighed in amazement.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWow. It\u2019s so beautiful here. It looks like home, only\u2026\u201d He shrugged as though he couldn\u2019t find the right words.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore,\u201d Qara said, grinning. \u201cYou can see why Daddy likes the Rift, can\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure he comes from here? I mean that\u2019s kind of an old story, and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara snorted. \u201cAnd have you ever known him to tell us something deliberately false? He\u2019s said he only has vague recollections of the place, but I don\u2019t have any reason to doubt him. Not after being here.\u201d She looked down at her map and pointed. \u201cWe should be close. I think it\u2019s just around that corner of the ridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright then. Lead on.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was clear as soon as they entered the cave that they\u2019d be facing people. There were carefully laid wooden ramps leading down into the tunnel, and sturdy braziers along each wall. Qara had hoped it would at least be dry, but a stream running downhill covered the full width of the place, making footing a bit treacherous. Fortunately, a dry tunnel branched off to the right just a short distance in.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t like the looks of this,\u201d Chip murmured, turning his head as if to listen more closely, and sniffing the air.<\/p>\n

Qara nodded. She didn\u2019t, either. Chip was behaving oddly but she could tell that he was onto something. A moment later that something became obvious. There was another turn in the tunnel, but at the intersection was a guard post – a wooden platform with a chair and table. Oddly, the person they\u2019d sensed was sitting facing the wall, her back to the open tunnel. Qara looked back at Chip and pointed; he shrugged. She slipped up behind the Bosmer bandit and ended her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this was the guard?\u201d Chip whispered. \u201cWe\u2019ll be fine if that\u2019s the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

They headed down the tunnel, moving silently as Delvin Mallory had taught them. Still, it startled Qara when a man walked right past her, missing her in the shadows. Fortunately, Chip hadn\u2019t been surprised; he dealt with the bandit easily.<\/p>\n

He has gotten stronger. Interesting.<\/em><\/p>\n

The tunnel they were in must have been one of the stream\u2019s meanders at some point, for it opened up into a much larger chamber into which that same stream entered from the left. Qara saw a bandit patrolling just ahead of them and rushed forward to attack. She hadn\u2019t checked the area carefully enough; there were two other adversaries here in the cave. Chip took the nearest of them on while she dealt with the first.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the third foe was a mage, who tossed a steady barrage of fireballs at them. Qara found herself seriously damaged after several struck her; she was forced to retreat into the comparative safety of the tunnel, healing herself and hissing as she watched Chip being pelted by flame as well. Finally, she felt able to rejoin the battle, approaching as the mage cast another fireball at Chip.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you serious?\u201d the woman sneered.<\/p>\n

What counters flame? Qara thought, breathing deeply.<\/p>\n

\u201cFO-KRAH!\u201d<\/p>\n

A huge plume of frost raced toward the bandit, knocking her down. Qara rushed toward her, daggers at the ready; but the woman lay dead atop a bed of mushrooms and stones.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you just\u2026 freeze her to death?\u201d Chip asked, approaching her from behind.<\/p>\n

Qara felt a shudder ripple out from her core. \u201cI\u2026 did, I guess. Wow. I learned one of the words on my own but I must have had the other from Uncle Dar.\u201d She spoke quietly as they continued deeper into the tunnel that once again followed the stream bed, explaining as best she understood it how some of his knowledge had transferred to her. \u201cIt just comes out sometimes. I never know when it will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh. I know how that goes,\u201d Chip muttered.<\/p>\n

She shot him a sharp glance. \u201cYou are<\/em> going to tell me what\u2019s going on with you,\u201d she hissed. \u201cYou\u2019ve been dropping these cryptic hints ever since I opened your front door. Don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to let you get away with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot now, Qara,\u201d Chip growled. \u201cIt\u2019s not the time. And it\u2019s definitely not the place.\u201d He pointed ahead of them. \u201cSee the ramps? We\u2019re going to run into more people. Be on your guard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure enough, there was a series of ramps covering slippery spots in the tunnel floor; and at the top of an upward-sloping section a man stood guard. She crept up behind him and attacked. The surprise helped; but it still took her several moments to finish him, and there was no room for Chip to fight beside her. She pointed ahead, though, as she caught her breath. There was another man walking away from them; he disappeared around a corner to the left. Chip nodded and squeezed past her.<\/p>\n

They silently pursued the man around several turns and dips in the tunnel, until he stopped just before a column Qara recognized as one belonging in an ancient Nord barrow. Chip was the one to launch the sneak attack this time, once again with his blade; Qara stepped up behind him and helped finish their adversary before he could do much more than moan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The passage turned left and emptied into an enormous cavern, lighted in part by a huge opening in the rocks above. There was no question that this place was the work of water; far beneath the hole in the roof was a good-sized pond, large enough for trees to grow on the tiny island in its center. The cavern extended both above and below them by many stories, so large that halfway up, where they stood at one end of a stone bridge, there was plenty of space for more full-sized pines to thrive. There was a wooden shed hugging the ledge across from them, and one or two people moving about near it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you look at that! No wonder they call this place\u2026 what was it again? Watercress Salad?\u201d Chip whispered from just behind her.<\/p>\n

Qara turned to glare at him. \u201cWatervine Chasm. Don\u2019t make me hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the twinkle in his eyes and the grin he couldn\u2019t quite contain dampened any irritation she might have otherwise felt. This was tense work, they were under the pressure of time, and Chip was doing his best to make it bearable. She chuckled.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re worse than Daddy sometimes, you know that, I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara led them to the left rather than heading straight across the chasm. It made for a much clearer and more complete view of what they were facing; and a good thing, too, for just after they\u2019d cleared the tunnel opening a bandit walked across the stone bridge to where they\u2019d been just moments before. Qara pulled out her bow and took aim on the man.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait!\u201d Chip hissed; but it was too late. She\u2019d loosed the arrow and, as Chip probably suspected would be the case, missed her shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me do the archery!\u201d he whispered. \u201cI don\u2019t mean to be a jerk but I\u2019m better than you at long-range stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know!\u201d she hissed back. \u201cI\u2019m just used to being on my own. I didn\u2019t think.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bandit she\u2019d failed to kill was running back toward the cabin. They kept moving down the edge of the cavern, down a set of ancient stone steps, toward and then into an old stone Nordic hut. That got them out of the lines of sight for a moment. There was a Khajiit seated on the platform just outside the open hut; amazingly, he didn\u2019t seem to be responding to the ruckus on the bridge above him. Qara made up for her earlier failure by drawing her blades and taking him down with a sneak attack from behind.<\/p>\n

There was another large set of steps just beyond the platform they were on. The bandit she\u2019d missed came running up them and then turned in the opposite direction. They looked at each other in bewilderment for a moment and then moved out to track the man down. He turned just as Qara approached, saw her, and grinned as he pulled his bow out in front of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do we have here?\u201d the man rasped, firing an arrow that just grazed the armor covering her shoulder. Qara couldn\u2019t stop her momentum in time to completely avoid him; so she slashed him several times before turning to skitter back toward the stairwell once more. She pivoted back toward the fight to find Chip in action, firing arrow after arrow at the man.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI give up!\u201d the bandit cried, running back toward Qara and then up into the deepest shadows of the boulders at the cavern\u2019s edge. Chip never took his eye off his prey; he simply waited for the man to stop moving for a moment and finished him off with a perfectly-placed arrow.<\/p>\n

They made their way down the massive central staircase to the floor of the cave, Qara marveling at how ancient the place must be. The small forest at its center was enough to tell that story; but the burial urns, wrapped mummies and draugr visible beneath the shifted lids of looted coffins also spoke of great age. It had likely been built long after weather and years had done most of their work, making it likely as old as the barrow beneath Hjorgunnar Mansion. There was a man wandering around the far side of the pond, though, and that warranted their immediate attention.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The sudden clatter of an arrow landing on the rocks near them propelled both Qara and Chip into action. There were two bandits running toward them and one on the rock bridge above. Chip fired at the man in dark armor who Qara had seen first; she drew her blades and circled in behind the bandit in scanty armor and a bright white fur cloak, who was also attacking Chip. The man was a tougher challenge than she\u2019d expected. His cloak absorbed much of the force of her blows, and she had to wait until the momentum of an overpowered swing of his warhammer turned him around to face her. His chest and belly were bare. She buried a blade in each of those unprotected spots, and the man dropped his hammer and fell dead.<\/p>\n

Chip had just finished with the other bandit when a lightning spell crackled across the cavern toward them. Qara swerved to see a mage descending the stairs, firing with both her hands. Chip couldn\u2019t avoid being struck; and in spite of his noisy snarl he stopped, his legs clearly made sluggish by the shock. Qara turned back toward the bandit.<\/p>\n

It worked once, maybe it\u2019ll work again.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFO- KRAH!\u201d<\/p>\n

This time the frost breath didn\u2019t kill its target. Perhaps the distance was too far; Qara couldn\u2019t tell. But it did slow her down, put her down on one knee for just a moment. Qara used that moment to sprint toward the mage, daggers flying. It took only a single set of attacks to kill the woman.<\/p>\n

On the far side of the pond was a structure that drew Qara toward it. She examined it, shaking her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Chip asked, approaching slowly while still rubbing his arms and legs back into life. \u201cLooks like one of those\u2026 what do you call them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWord walls,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd yeah, it\u2019s a word wall. Or at least it was. See the scratches? They\u2019re faded but those are words. Or at least they were. But the whole wall is broken.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019d never seen one of these broken, before. The stylized dragon head that usually adorned the very center of these walls had dropped down at a strange angle, and fully half of the curved wall itself had slumped down in front of the rest of the structure. She looked up; they were beneath one of the edges of the hole to the outside world. At some point long past, a boulder had broken loose and dropped down onto the wall. She shuddered thinking of what that might have been like.<\/p>\n

She could see the opening to another tunnel at the back of the cavern. Between them and it, though, was a partially ruined tower; and from just around that tower came voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s definitely something.\u201d<\/p>\n

OK, two guys. Two of us. And I have something they don\u2019t have.<\/em><\/p>\n

The two men came running out of the darkness, swords raised.<\/p>\n

\u201cFUS- RO DAH!\u201d<\/p>\n

The two of them flew through the air, one traveling so far that he bounced off the wall of the tunnel and back into the cavern. That gave Qara time to take out the nearer of them. She turned to locate the second man, and that turn saved her life. He was bringing his two-handed weapon down in an arc that would have sliced her wide open if she hadn\u2019t moved. As it was, the blow from its handle knocked the breath out of her; she gasped and stumbled out of the way, but at least she was alive. Chip hurled himself at the bandit, and she was able to regain her breath and rejoin the fight. It was over quickly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

They went up through the tower, and found that there was one more adversary standing in the doorway of the shack they\u2019d first seen from across the way. This one, a Khajiit, was an easy kill. He\u2019d been standing directly in the light of a torch, light that blinded him enough that he couldn\u2019t find either Qara or Chip in the shadows, but instead made him a perfect target for two perfectly-placed arrows.<\/p>\n

They took a few moments to check the cavern again. When it was clear that they\u2019d cleaned the place out, they started moving once more through the rough tunnels.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know,\u201d Chip said quietly, \u201cI\u2019ve heard you do that Shouting thing before but it seems to me as though you\u2019ve gotten\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStronger?\u201d she asked, hoping that was what he meant. \u201cUncle Dar taught me a few things, and so did the Greybeards and their leader when we went up the mountain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLouder, is what I was going to say,\u201d Chip answered with a grin. \u201cOk, don\u2019t hurt me. Yes, stronger. That\u2019s good, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara sighed. \u201cI don\u2019t know what it means, honestly. But it is useful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long are we going to be in here, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure. Brother Thorlough said these caverns were \u2018vast.\u2019 That\u2019s the word he used. We\u2019re supposed to come to an old Dwemer ruin called\u2026 what was it? Vizemundsted. But I don\u2019t know where that is in relation to anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess we\u2019ll get there when we get there,\u201d Chip said.<\/p>\n

Qara was glancing behind to look at him when he snorted.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook up ahead. Spiders. I seem to be cursed with them lately.\u201d He chuckled. \u201cFarkas will be glad he\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s Farkas?\u201d Qara knew she\u2019d heard the name before, but not where.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of the Companions. He and I had to get through a similarly-infested dungeon awhile ago and, well\u2026 he doesn\u2019t like spiders.\u201d He snickered again. \u201cI guess you had to be there. This big strong guy and spiders make him cringe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qaralana giggled. \u201cWell, stranger things have happened. These are pretty big webs though. I hope we won\u2019t have any trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara cut through the webs and then backed up past Chip, assuming that he would down the spiders with his bow. There were two of them that she could see, each as huge as the biggest she\u2019d ever encountered in Skyrim. Instead, Chip drew his daggers and rushed into the chamber, dodging and slashing and taking them on close-up, instead of from a safe distance.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t understand him, sometimes, even if he is my brother. Something\u2019s eating at him and I don\u2019t know what it is. But I get the feeling it has something to do with the Companions.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTake care you don\u2019t bump your head on a bit of low-hanging stone,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n

Qara laughed. \u201cWe\u2019ve just walked into a room full of gigantic frostbite spiders and you\u2019re worrying about the rocks? It\u2019ll be fine, big brother. Really.\u201d She laughed again and then turned around to make sure he could see her face. \u201cBut I am really glad you\u2019re with me. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were more spiders at various intervals down the winding tunnel that led away into the unknown. None of them was as large as the first two they\u2019d had to kill, though, so they took turns taking point and slicing up arachnids, gathering up useful venom and eggs as they went. The exit from the third roomful of the creatures was blocked by another nearly-solid wall of spider web, which took a fair amount of effort to cut down even with Qara\u2019s lovingly-sharpened daggers. Beyond, the tunnel narrowed and lowered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s up there?\u201d Chip whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t know. I can\u2019t see far enough ahead. Rocks, I guess.\u201d She moved around a corner to find several more wooden ramps of the kind they\u2019d crossed coming in. \u201cI spoke too soon. There\u2019s wood here. Be ready, we might have more people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The farther they went, the more occupied the space seemed, with more lighted torches mounted in wall sconces. Qara was getting more concerned as she went, especially when a support beam at the end of the passage had fairly fresh garlic braids hanging from it.<\/p>\n

If these were old they\u2019d be shriveled and dried up. Or on the ground. We may have company. <\/em><\/p>\n

I wonder how far we\u2019ve come. It feels like it\u2019s been days.<\/em><\/p>\n

The tunnel resembled a mine now, more than anything else. It had wooden paving beneath and support beams along its length. In one cul-de-sac a partially-buried skeleton grasping a pickaxe lay on the ground, the apparent victim of a support beam that hadn\u2019t held.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you hear that?\u201d Chip hissed.<\/p>\n

Qara stopped and tilted her head to the side. It was just as quiet in the tunnel as it had been since they left the spiders behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t hear anything,\u201d she said with a question in her voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen!\u201d Chip said. \u201cIt\u2019s water!\u201d<\/p>\n

Qara strained to hear anything and couldn\u2019t. \u201cYou\u2019re imagining stuff, big brother. There\u2019s no water\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep moving,\u201d he said, waving her ahead. \u201cI\u2019m telling you, there\u2019s water up there somewhere. Trust me. I have good hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah I guess so, she thought as she heaved a sigh and started along the tunnel once more. This has to be the most tiring trip I\u2019ve ever made. I sure hope it\u2019s worth\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Her thoughts stopped and her mouth sagged open as the tunnel opened onto one of the most amazing vistas she\u2019d ever seen. There was, in fact, water. A lot of it. To her left \u2013 uphill \u2013 some of the subterranean streams and lakes had joined together into a torrent and burst through whatever openings it found to form a powerful river here in the huge cavern that opened before them. It was easy to see what had happened to the mining operation, too. Downhill, and to their right, the neat boardwalk that covered the tunnels behind them had continued toward several platforms, leading to some Nordic-design arches she could barely make out through the mists. That wooden highway had been torn apart, partially washed downstream, hanging at bizarre angles in places. She could see where the miners had staged some of their gear but those barrels and chests were also worse for wear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow,\u201d Chip breathed. \u201cJust look at that!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing. I\u2019ve never seen anything like it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe obviously have to move downstream, but be careful on those planks. I don\u2019t much care for the look of them and I don\u2019t want to carry you out on my back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019m just as nervous as you are,\u201d Qara said, placing one cautious step in front of another on her way toward the arches. She could see that there had originally been several other arches along the length of this cavern. Most of them, though, had cracked and fallen, probably long before the flood that had taken out the boardwalks; but the water certainly hadn\u2019t helped matters.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To her relief, Qaralana found that the intact portions of the boardwalk were just that: intact and solid underfoot. She picked up speed as she neared the bottom of the chasm, for there was something interesting there just beyond the huge Nordic arches. At the end of the boardwalk and up a set of stone stairs was a platform. The water disappeared, apparently having tunneled its way beneath the platform. At the far end of the cavern was a set of familiar iron doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cA barrow?\u201d Chip asked as he climbed the stairs behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cMust be. And I think we should get in there. This rock could stay here forever or that river could bring it down any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAgreed. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n

They both pushed against the forbidding metal and stepped through.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Home Previous \/ Next   During the hours on Wulf\u2019s ship, Qaralana told Chip more about why they were returning to their father\u2019s homeland. He\u2019d frowned at her, at first, when she told him about reaching Falskaar almost by accident. \u201cYou\u2019re telling me that Jalamar was right, then? There really were screams coming from the … <\/p>\n

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