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It was less of a fall and more of a tumble as the pair of them struck hard stone and began to slide along it’s surface, rushing downward in the darkness. They crashed into one another, heads banging together and into each other’s limbs. Each reached out for anything to grab a hold of, but the stone surface was smooth and slick with some sort of slime. Dusk could feel the walls to his sides and above his head, they were falling through some sort of tunnel. As they gained speed it began to level out slightly, but they didn’t slow down. It was pitch black and Dusk couldn’t make out any details in the distance. He thought they could crash into a stone wall at any second, ending both of their lives in a flash of blinding pain.
Then, just as Dusk put his hands out to brace for such an impact he felt his body come free of the tunnel. Splaying his arms out he felt nothing but the surge of gravity as his body was yanked downwards in a free fall, his stomach turning. There was a strange orange glow coming from the reflective surface below. He glanced at Lex, meeting his eyes for a moment, and then screwed them shut, waiting for the impact.
Instead he was met with a mind numbing cold that forced all the air out of his lungs. Dusk felt the bubbles well up around his face and nostrils and realized he was underwater. Instinctively he kicked out and swept his hands up, clawing at the water in an attempt to pull himself to the surface. He couldn’t remember ever being so fully submerged, but somehow he knew what to do. The fur-lined cloak and the satchel still hung about his neck, dragging him backwards into the water and into the black depths. Choosing life, he let them both go along with the very few possessions he had in all the world and kicked towards the surface.
Dusk’s lungs were burning as he broke the surface of the water, gasping freezing cold air into his body. He sputtered, looking around for Lex. A few feet away another body burst through the water, coughing and taking in a deep breath. Lex looked at him for a moment, scowled, and turned away, heading for the glowing light at the edge of the pool. Dusk followed after, trying to mimic Lex’s movements, but the other man was standing on the shore before Dusk was even halfway there.
Panting and wheezing a few moments later, Dusk pulled himself up and over the edge of the shore, laying on his belly across sharp rock that dug into his skin through his clothing. Lex stood next to him, dumping water out of his own satchel that he must have grabbed before running after him. The side of his face was pounding where Lex had struck him and he could feel hundreds of bruises forming all across his body. Whether from the fight or the fall, he wasn’t sure, but the pain was astounding.
Dusk reached down and felt his belt. The dagger and the small coin purse were still there, but everything else was gone. He sighed as he sat up and pulled the black leather boots off, dumping the cold water out of them onto the ground. As he leaned forward to pull the first boot off a lightly glowing faceted stone fell out of his chest pocket and clinked across the stone ground like glass.
Dusk quickly snatched it up as it bounced toward the edge of the pool, the voice echoing in the back of his mind once more. Without a second though he shoved his foot back in the boot along with the crystal, tucking it between the pieces of leather. He glanced at Lex and saw he was still wringing out his own things one by one. Pretending nothing had happened he pulled off the other boot and dumped it out.
He wondered if he should speak first. The long fall and the shock of the cold water had cleared the fear from his mind. He felt foolish. He’d lashed out at the second person who had ever shown him human kindness. Shame and guilt washed over him like a prickly uncomfortable heat in the cold. He knew he had to speak, but he didn’t know what to say.
“Lex,” Dusk whispered aloud, barely audible.
A grunt from beside him answered his voice.
“I–I was scared. I shouldn’t have–you don’t know what it was like.”
“You’re right,” Lex replied in a low tone. “I don’t.”
“I—”
Lex held up a hand, “Save it. Let’s just get out of here.”
Dusk turned his head back to the ground and whispered, “Yes sir.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Call you what?”
“Don’t call me sir. I hate that. It makes you sound like the obedient servants back at the manor. You don’t have to do what everyone tells you to do all the time. Understood?”
“Ye–I understand,” Dusk caught himself. He paused for a moment. “Do you know where we are?”
Lex heaved a great sigh, “Well judging by the direction you ran and the fact that all of that,” he gestured out across the underground lake, “is man-made. I’d say we’re somehow under the ruins of Alamond.”
Dusk looked across the water and saw where the tunnel let out far above them. The entire side of the cavern was made of rough-hewn stone blocks until it disappeared into the ceiling beneath vaulted struts. The remaining walls of the cavern were naturally formed and streaked with veins of a glowing material that Dusk didn’t recognize. It emitted a dim orange light that filled the cave and reflected off the mirror-like surface of the water.
“Lumorium,” Lex stated matter of factly, pointing out to the veins of light. “It’s extremely rare.”
“I’ve never seen it before,” Dusk replied.
“You wouldn’t have. Only the palace has Lumorium lamps. If they knew this was here...”
“Somebody knows it’s here,” Dusk said, pointing over to the wall ten feet away. Two pickaxes leaned up against the stone near a vein of the glowing rock, rubble lying all about them. Dusk pulled himself to his feet and walked over, picking one up by the handle. It was well worn but still strong. The head of the ax however, was coated in rust. “These have been here a while, but not long enough to rot them through. I wonder who they belonged to?”
Dusk hefted the ax backward and aimed it at the Lumorium. With a grunt the pointed tip shot forward and sank into the ore, the clash of metal on stone echoing loudly through the cavern. Lex looked about nervously, but Dusk kept going. It took a few minutes, but finally he threw the tool to the ground, and picked up two fist sized pieces of Lumorium. He handed one to Lex.
“I guess we should find a way out,” Dusk said, holding the stone above eye level to help light the way. “Mines always have an exit. Well... almost always.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Dusk led the way, keeping close to the wall to avoid going back into the water. His drenched clothes clung to his skin, chilled by the cold cavern air. He could hear Lex’s teeth chattering behind him as he shivered uncontrollably. The lake was larger than it looked and oblong-shaped. In some places, it hugged the wall so close that there were mere inches of a rock shelf to sidle along. Pressing their backs against the slick rocks, they shuffled sideways until the shore grew wider once more. After about an hour of stumbling in the dark, they had made their way around to the other side of the massive underground lake.
To his left was a small tunnel and Dusk lifted the stone to light the way. It was almost pitch black and squeezed in from the sides, but it looked as if it would accommodate them if they went one at a time. He stepped forward and crouched down, ready to push through the small opening. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“I don’t want to go in there,” Lex whispered from behind him. “Can’t you smell it?”
Dusk took a deep breath through his nose. There was a tinge of something foul in the air.
“Did you see another way out?”
“N–no.”
“There’s no other choice then. Keep close.”
Dusk ducked under the low-hanging rock and out of sight, the hand slipping off his shoulder. He crawled forward, using his elbows to pull himself through the loose gravel. The small hole was only a few feet long before it opened up so that he could stand up again. He waited for a moment, holding the stone above his head to examine the tunnel walls. They were covered in tool marks, carved out long ago.
He ducked down to the hole and called through, “It opens up after a few feet. Come on.”
Even on the other side of the opening Dusk could hear the apprehensive sigh. Then came the sound of shuffling and loose gravel crunching and sliding. Holding the Lumorium in front of him, Dusk watched as Lex crawled forward. His breathing was shallow and erratic. There was a look of panic and fear in his eyes that Dusk knew all too well. When Lex came out the other side he sat against the wall, tilting his head backwards against the stone and squeezing his eyes shut. He was still gasping shallow breaths.
“Are you okay?” Dusk asked, wondering what was wrong with the man.
“D–don’t make me do that again,” he gasped. “I don’t like s–small spaces.”
Dusk was confused. He’d spent his whole life in the mines squeezing through gaps that tore his skin and shifted his bones. Comparatively the space they’d come through was roomy. But he watched as the man in front of him fought to steady his breath, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. He squatted down in front of him, placing a hand on the knee pulled tight to Lex’s chest.
“Look at me,” Dusk said calmly. Lex opened his eyes wide and stared at him. “You’re not in there anymore. Breathe slowly. Come on.” Dusk stood up and held a hand out.
After a moment’s hesitation, Lex reached out and took the offered hand and stood, forcing his breaths to steady by inhaling deeply and holding it for a moment before letting it out. Within a minute it had returned to normal.
“Okay... hoo. Okay.” Lex breathed. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything’s good.”
“This part was carved out by people,” Dusk said, gesturing to the walls covered in tool marks. “It’ll be easy walking from here.”
“Good. Let’s get out of here.”
Dusk led the way, holding the glowing ore high so that the dim orange light reflected off the slick walls. A foot above their heads the rough hewn ceiling undulated, damp and dripping from the humidity so that a cold drop of water struck the tops of their heads periodically. The tunnel continued on for some way at an upward angle, leading them further and further into the darkness.
After ten minutes something in front of them flashed white in the light. It was low to the ground and it didn’t seem to be moving. Dusk paused for a moment, waiting for it to react, but when nothing happened he stepped forward.
A few more steps revealed it to be a pair of skeletons lying atop one another in the middle of the path. Lex drew in a sharp gasp. Dusk, nonplussed, stepped forward and crouched down next to them. They were half buried in gravel and dust that had settled on the tunnel floor over time. He reached out a finger and ran it across a curving white rib bone. There were many gouges in the bone as if from a blade and one of them was broken.
“They were killed,” Dusk said. “A sword, probably.”
Lex crouched down next to him, his fingers sinking into the thick dust. He leaned forward to examine the markings, but instead turned down to his hand. Wrapping his fingers around something he lifted it out of the soil. Clutched in his hand was a rough hewn blade of rusted iron. The edge was jagged and it was barely longer than a dagger, but with a true sword hilt.
“Goblins,” Lex breathed.
“More fairy tales?” Dusk asked, trying not to smile as he recognized the word. “You’re full of stories.”
“I wish this one weren’t true.” Lex looked to Dusk and back to the blade. “I’ve seen one of these on display before. A hunter turned tavern owner had a mounted head and the sword the creature kept. It looked just like this.”
Dusk was starting to believe Juniper’s warnings. ‘Creatures on the road’ seemed like such nonsense, like something parents would tell children to keep them in bed at night. But now he wasn’t so sure.
“Goblins live in small patriarchal tribes and usually in cave systems,” Lex explained. “But if this connects to the ruins, this could be the biggest goblin city in the world. Maybe.” He glanced around, waving the stone about as if waiting for them to pounce. “They’re ruthless creatures without an ounce of humanity or mercy in their blood. I hope there’s not many of them.”
“What do we do?”
“Stay quiet and stay out of sight.”
Dusk glanced around, settling his eyes back on the skeleton. To the right of it there was a strange shape in the dust.
“I wish we had weapons, that would make me feel better.”
Dusk reached out and wrapped his hand around the object, pulling a large man made sword out of the dirt. “Like this?”
Lex looked dumbfounded, but recovered quickly. “Is there another?”
Together they sifted through the dirt and within a few moments had unearthed another sword of similar common make, a small dagger, two hammers, a small bag of powdered Lumorium, and a handful of silver coins. All the tools were rusted, but the blades had been protected by rotting sheaths and were mostly unscathed.
Dusk slipped the coins into his purse and a hammer through his belt before taking one of the swords for himself. Lex put the powder in his bag, though what for, Dusk couldn't understand. Then Lex took a sword and dagger. They looked to one another, nodded, and with swords in hand they headed down the tunnel.
In a few minutes they came to the mouth of the cave and Dusk could see bricks piled on the ground around the entrance. As they stepped through, the sight took their breaths away. The room was wide open and stretched over a quarter mile across with faint rays of light shining down from above. Along the walls, great stone arches held aloft a spiraling walkway that wound its way upward. The pair walked forward, placing their hands on the crumbling stone railing, and looked up at the early dawn light that streamed down from a massive circle hundreds of feet above that opened to the sky. Green vines and mosses illuminated by the morning dripped across the walls, hanging in open space and clambering over stone supports and railings, yearning for more sunlight. Here and there a bird’s nest was tucked into an alcove, although they could hear no birdsong or cries. It was beautiful.
“Gods above...” Lex whispered, gawking with mouth agape at the eerie majesty.
Dusk turned his attention downward, surprised to find that they were not at the bottom of the pit. Another fifty feet down, the perfectly circular shaft was filled with water, the path disappearing below the surface. Five sharp stone pillars were thrust up out of the water, angling towards the wall. Dusk had no idea what they could be for, but the pillars were at least twenty feet thick and the circle they created was easily five hundred feet wide. In a strange way, they reminded him of a stone setting for a ring, but many thousands of times bigger. He began to wonder why people would go through so much trouble to build an underground city. Although it was beautiful, he decided he didn’t like it. Something about it felt off and he’d spent enough of his life underground. He wanted to spend the rest of it in the sun. The cold humidity and the scent of raw minerals were sensations he wanted to leave behind forever.
“I’d heard of the wonders of Alamond, but this... this is something else entirely,” Lex said, still gawking up at the pathway spiraling to the sky. “Look at the scroll work carved into the supports! And the pointed arches lining the spiral! This is definitely Alamondian architecture, but the books don’t say anything about an underground city. It’s so massive.” He leaned out over the railing once more, peering all about. “I can’t believe nobody knows about this. This is the best preserved example of Alamondian culture that exists.” He brought his heels back to the ground and turned to Dusk. “Do you think they left it open to let light in? Maybe there was another function? It seems too big to be only for light or for airflow.” He glanced down into the pit. “What were they keeping down here?”
“I don’t care either way. I just want to get back topside,” Dusk replied, turning away from the railing and heading upward.
“You’re not curious about this enormous man made hole that probably took centuries to carve out?”
“Not really.”
Lex came up beside Dusk, scoffing loudly, “Curiosity is what makes life worth living!”
“No. Having a life is what makes life worth living. And I haven’t had any of that yet,” Dusk retorted, trudging forward. “I’d like to live long enough to have one.”
He heard Lex’s footsteps stop for a moment and then start again, but he made no further comment.
The light filtering down dimly illuminated the space around them, but they still kept their Lumorium aloft as they were cast in shadow by the stone above. The path was on a gradual but constant incline. Every now and then they would come across a stone door along the sides of the spiral, but they found most led to empty chambers filled with water. A few contained items so long rotten that they were impossible to identify. Soon they stopped looking at them at all, convinced there was nothing worth exploring. After a half hour their legs were burning and sweat beaded their brows. Their wet clothing had grown warm from the exertion although it refused to dry in the cool humidity of the cavern. As they trudged upward the foul smell grew from a light undertone to an obvious stench. Dusk had dealt with worse smells and breathed deeply. Lex, however, held a piece of cloth over his face.
“We must be getting close to the goblins,” he said, muffled by his hand. He stepped over to the railing and leaned out, bracing himself against it to look up at the light above. “We’re not far no—”
Suddenly the stone gave way and Lex was falling. With a cry he spun and managed to latch onto one of the broken rails. His body swung around, slamming against the stone platform. The rail managed to hold as Lex clutched desperately to it with one hand, his voice still echoing up through the long chamber. The broken railing fell silently, eventually splashing far below into the dark and murky water.
Dusk threw his weapon to the ground and ran to the edge, grabbing Lex’s free arm.
“Don’t let me go!” Lex yelled.
Lex’s arm was slippery with sweat and Dusk fought to keep his grip. He grunted and strained, pulling the man up with all his might. He mustered every last bit of strength to get Lex over the edge. Lex scrambled to his feet and both backed away against the opposite wall and sat there panting from strain and adrenaline.
It was a long moment before either of them spoke, their hearts beating wildly in their chests and trying to catch their breath.
“If I didn’t owe you before, I definitely do now,” Lex laughed shakily. He turned to look at Dusk, “A life debt is a hard one to repay.”
Dusk didn’t respond for a moment. Such a thing was a new concept to him. Nobody had ever owed him anything. Finally he said the only thing he could think of. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? For what?”
“For the things I said earlier in the woods. If I hadn’t freaked out we wouldn’t be down here.”
“Well, I’m sorry for punching you.”
“I’m... I’m still learning how to be a person and—”
“Shh!” Lex hushed, placing a hand over Dusk’s mouth.
Dusk furrowed his eyebrows, annoyed that Lex had stopped him, but the other man raised his hand and pointed across the space. Following his finger Dusk saw the dark figures above running down the spiraling path. They were low and hunched, beams of sunlight reflecting off the weapons they carried. Dusk could hear a low gurgling coming from them as their feet padded on the stone. There was only one spiral between them and the creatures who were now blocking their way out.