Alyna steadied her breathing as she brushed her fingers along the cold rock wall of the mines. Her stomach growled, and her lips were parched. She had no idea how long she'd been down here. A day? Two days?
She didn't know what had happened to Dalgron. Or what had happened to her. She had been running behind him, and the next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground in a helpless heap. Whatever had happened, two things were immediately clear: Dalgron was gone, and she was trapped underground.
She had survived ever since then by licking the water that dripped down the walls and eating the meager greens that grew between cracks in the ground. It wasn't enough, and her stomach reminded her of that fact. The only thing keeping her going was knowing Vron was down here somewhere. If she could only locate him, maybe they could find their way out together. Imagining that escape was what kept her feet moving. As long as she had hope, she could persevere.
In quiet moments, the broad extent of the tunnels crossed her mind. She knew enough about the orc mines to feel moments of panic. Her will, her focus, kept her from giving in to despair.
"Vron," she called out.
Her voice echoed back to her. The first time this had happened, she had thought someone was calling back to her. She'd frantically called out his name over and over again until she realized it was her own voice replying. She nearly gave up then, feeling the overwhelming weight of being lost in the mines. But instead she kept going, calling his name at regular intervals.
Or what felt like regular intervals. She really had no idea. It could have been moments between calls, or it could have been days. Without the rising and setting of the sun, she couldn't be sure. Time stretched on for infinity. Or perhaps it stood still. Only the beating of her heart assured her she was still alive and not stuck in a deathly nightmare.
An orange glow in the distance beckoned to her from the darkness.
Someone, or something, was up ahead.
The orange flicker bobbed up and down, side to side. It grew larger with each passing moment.
Alyna scuttled backward as quickly as she could, pressing herself into an alcove. She waited. The light grew larger; the pale orange glow on the floor and walls grew.
The figure was almost to her.
Almost…
Alyna jumped from the alcove, tackling the person. The torch fell to the ground and guttered, but didn't go out. The person under her grunted and fought back. Though Alyna was weak, she was determined; this was her chance. She wrestled the person to the ground, face down, pinning their arms behind them and straddling their back.
They grunted as she lodged her knee into their kidney.
"Who are you?" Alyna asked.
"Who are you?" the figure mumbled back in the human tongue. He turned his face to the side, revealing tusks. Nice-sized ones, too. Alyna was lucky she hadn't cut herself on them during the scuffle. So, this was an orc, but one not accustomed to fighting. A warrior would have taken her out in mere moments.
She eased off of him. "I'm lost in here." She figured telling the truth wouldn't hurt. The xarlug had come from below the city, but the orcs down here were miners. They were hard workers. Good orcs. At least, she had to believe that. "Can you help me find the way out?"
"There is no way out. The assholes above blocked us in because a few of our orcs died from illness. I don't know what they're thinking. We've tried to remove the rocks, but they did something on the outside to seal them. You're as trapped down here as I am."
The orc lay still, his body relaxed. He didn't fear her. Perhaps she shouldn't fear him.
Alyna stood, then stepped to one side. Just in case he meant her harm, she kept her arms bent, prepared to fight.
The orc sat, grabbed his torch, and held it up. The sputtering flame strengthened once more.
Alyna threw her arm over her eyes. She hadn't been that close to light in days. Or weeks. Or however long she'd been down here.
"I can't get you out," the orc said, "but I can take you back with me if you'd like." He held out a hand. It was covered in callouses, the marks of a lifetime of hard work.
"You hear very well for a miner," Alyna said, still suspicious. "I thought most of you were deaf from working in the mines."
He laughed, the sharpened tips of his tusks glinting in the light. "I was a foreman. As was my father before me. Birth shaped my path. I was one of the lucky ones." He squinted. "But you're not an orc at all. A human, I reckon. How did you end up down here?"
Alyna decided to play along with his assumption. If they had Vron down there, he might have spoken about her. The faun he loved. If there was any chance he was held against his will, she mustn't do anything to put him in harm's way.
"I got lost. Our army came up here to invade, but when that horrible beast emerged from underground, I was trapped down here. I've been wandering for Solnar knows how long." She invoked the human god to add authenticity to her story. She smoothed her long skirt over her boots. Her hair was enough of a rat's nest to ensure her horns were well hidden among the red curls.
"You should know," she added, "I wasn't in the human army. I was a camp follower. I made food for the soldiers. I didn't have much choice. They made us come here." She looked down at the ground, hoping she appeared contrite. It was how she hoped any human with half a brain might act around an orc.
"It wasn't my war, either." The orc grabbed Alyna's hand. "Come, I'll get you some food. You must be famished."
"I am," she admitted. She was ravenous. She needed food and water. And maybe a nap, if she felt secure enough to fall asleep around a group of strange, potentially diseased orcs. But first, she needed to gain this orc's trust.
She studied him as they walked. He didn't seem sick to her. He was hardy. His eyes were bright. After Dalgron's story, this wasn't at all what she'd expected to find down here.
"Kleim," he said.
"I'm sorry?"
"My name. Kleim."
"Oh! Of course. Nice to meet you, Kleim. I'm Agatha." It was a human name. Her mother's name. It was the name she used whenever she traveled into Solnar under the guise of a human.
"It's nice to meet you too, Agatha. Though I'm sorry it had to happen under these circumstances. Since your holy man Hugh died, nothing has been normal here in Agitar. I think we all have a lot to work through. I will make sure my fellow orcs treat you with respect. You don't have to worry about being harmed." He laughed, deep and hearty. "Though after the way you took me down back there, I have no concerns about your ability to defend yourself."
"I had the element of surprise. I doubt I could do such a thing again." Alyna felt it was true, too. He was much larger than her and much stronger. If she was going to get to Vron and out of the tunnels, she'd have to rely on her wits.
"It's not much farther. Soon you'll be able to rest." Kleim squeezed Alyna's hand.
She squeezed back. Whatever awaited her ahead couldn't be worse than being lost, alone, in the mines.