Sekali, "The Sister City"

 

                                Chapter 74

 

     Finyat led the way, moving cautiously before the group, his eyes darting this way and that, suspicious of everything in his path. He made no noise as he crept, and probably a deer would not have noticed his approach. He removed his hand-claws after a bit of travel, realizing there would be no climbing in this area, carefully putting them back in their proper place. He was so particular about their placement that he kept the others waiting.
     Uther ground his teeth impatiently, but said nothing. Sekali watched Aria drink a finger-sized vial of liquid she had retrieved from her storing pack. After drinking it, she corked and returned the empty vial back to its proper place.
     “Aria, what was that?” Sekali asked curiously.
     “Healing. I keep a number of them on my person when I am sworn Blood Kin; they help.”
Sekali nodded, beginning to understand the weight of her charge.
     Just then their attention was drawn to Uther who growled at Finyat in annoyance. “Shallant, we should never find out way through these grand tunnels if you keep taking your time!”
     Finyat winced, as Uther’s voice echoed through the cavern, and moved on. After some hours of carefully moving along, they came into another large cavern hall, which created a natural crossroad. A massive archway lay straight ahead of them, it was the main path they had been taking. To the left was no option. They quickly decided that to the right was no choice at all, for after exploring it, Finyat reported that some length down that tunnel, there was a rot smell that became more intense, and the bones of creatures great and small lay scattered in many places.
     When Finyat quickly returned, he pointed down that way. “Well, there is something that lives in that direction, though I did not get a look at it. It has killed many others that have been unfortunate enough to venture into that dismal tunnel.
     He awaited the group’s decision. They agreed to continue straight on through the great archway, for it was in a northward direction, according to Aria, and that was the direction of their goal.
     For three days they followed the tunnel, stopping to sleep and eat quietly as they could.
     Uther had become upset with Finyat at one point. Finyat had turned and quietly stated the obvious point that the four of them were alone in the deepness of the darkened earth, and in the dark, they were the victims, and there were none to save them if they should fall victim to an unspeakable horror that lurked down in the belly of the mountains. This unnerved Uther who had pushed Finyat and growled at him to shut his mouth and carry on. Finyat snickered loudly and kept on, as commanded, leading the company as Uther looked to either side nervously, cursing Finyat all the while. Sekali took pleasure in the two continuing to make sport of each other.
     At the end of the third day they came upon a fork in the tunnel, both ways leading somewhat north. Finyat went up ahead and scouted out both ways as far as he dared, then returned and reported.
     “Shall we just pick a tunnel and go?”
     Sekali nodded, a bit startled at Finyat’s sudden appearance. Aria and Uther both pointed left. Finyat nodded and took the lead into the left tunnel.
     The way was smaller at first, forcing Sekali and Aria to stoop so as not to strike their heads upon low hanging stalactites. In some areas they traveled through what looked to be a forest of rock, where the stalagmites and the stalactites met, forming natural pillars that filled a large chamber.
     At the end of this chamber, these formations thinned out, revealing a large tunnel at one end of the massive chamber. At that point a strong odor, not unlike the smell of a large population of cattle, filled the still air. Finyat grimaced and stopped in the large entrance of the cave, studying the size of the opening closely. Turning, he made a signal to be silent and pointed at the rock on which were the deep grooves of what could only be talon marks. Finyat silently crept in past the opening, a faint, dark-blue light preceding him. The others followed in silence as he made his way around large rocks and the long-since-slain skeletal remains of many creatures. All the bones were smashed, as if a stampede had worked all the bones until there were none larger than hand-sized fragments.
     Ever so slowly the four inched their way into the depths of the tunnel, the smell becoming more pungent as they traveled on.
     At one point, Finyat signaled a halt as he crept forward through the tunnel, a dim, almost-black light before him as he moved along, as stealthy and patient as a spider.

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