The Savage Caves - Chapter 11
The Savage Caves: Original Story by T.H. Lain
A Fan-Fiction Reimagining: Walthus Proudstump
Chapter 11
Regdar dropped down, wincing as his wounded leg hit the stone lip some ten feet down. The drop down wasn’t graceful but he could manage it. He cursed himself for not bringing rope, though there was no reason why he would've needed it along their journey to New Koratia. Behind him, the sound of Naull lowering herself drew his attention.
“A little help, please.” She said softly and he grabbed at her feet. Satisfied he had her, Naull let go of the ledge and dropped into his arms. Regdar grunted, more from the injury than the weight of the small woman. She was incredibly light, but Jozan’s spell had only helped keep the weakness of the funnel spider’s venom from killing him. His strength was still lessened and the wound still ached. The priest had closed it with magic but had said his magic wouldn’t be as effective unless Regdar could purge the venom.
He let Naull down and watched as Lidda, nimble-fingered, scaled the drop effortlessly. She found handholds that he hadn’t even seen and dropped next to the two nearly soundlessly. She looked up at him. “Can I help you, Regdar?”
“Just admiring the skills of an adventurer,” he commented. She rolled her eyes, flipped him an obscene gesture and stepped forward onto the stone ledge they stood on.
The sound of Jozan struggling down the ledge made Regdar sigh.
The priest was nowhere near as light as Naull was. He helped him, though; Jozan didn’t seem the athletic type and Regdar doubted the cloister had climbing on the list of necessary skills for the faithful of Pelor. He grunted, cursed and apologized to Jozan as he managed to get the other man on the ground.
“Whoa,” Lidda said with a sharp whistle. The noise echoed loudly.
Regdar, Naull and Jozan turned to the small halfling woman. Jozan’s lantern light illuminated the rocky wall surrounding them and the small lip of stone that extended about five feet from where they stood - beyond that there was a sheer drop off into a darkness so deep that Regdar thought it may well go straight into the center of the world. About ten meters from the empty nothingness was another ledge, thinner than the one that led off. It looked like there had been a bridge there but a stalactite must’ve destroyed it when it had fallen, leaving only a small stone lip. Above them, just at the edge of the lantern lights flickering orange-yellow glow, Regdar could see stalactites covering the ceiling. Thick, rounded stones jutted from the ceiling. Some dripped water and he could see the dim outlines of dozens of them.
He sighed.
“How are we going to cross this?” His voice was a rumbling thunder in the expansive cavern.
“Maybe there’s a ledge we can climb down?” Lidda offered.
“I can cast a spell on a rock, toss it down and see. Lidda, could you watch it and see if there are places to scale the wall?” Naull shifted and searched her bag. She cursed. “Damn it, ignore my suggestion.” Regdar furrowed his brow.
“What’s wrong?” He asked her.
“That bugbear from the camp slammed into me and I lost my phosphorescent moss.”
Regdar gave her a look and she chuckled. “I’m sorry,” the warrior said but she waved her hand to stop him.
“No, I shouldn’t expect anyone but Jozan to know. I need that for my light spell - without it I can’t cast it. The spell uses the moss to power itself, which it then consumes - unless properly preserved. Then it can be used several times before it is consumed by the spell effect.”
He nodded. Regdar had absolutely no idea what she was talking about but he could understand needing something to use her magic. He just thought that all wizards used their staves to cast spells.
“I can do so,” Jozan said. “But only once this day - I will need to rest and pray for Pelor’s grace again before I can perform that miracle.”
“Toss the rock, let’s see how screwed we are.” Lidda said with a shrug.
Jozan handed his dimmed lantern to Regdar, who held it with his free hand. The hours of wandering had used up a considerable amount of oil and they’d lowered the flame to conserve what they had remaining. It wasn’t much.
His shield was cumbersome in some of the smaller tunnels they’d traveled through but here he could actually make use of it. But he’d removed his shield to help Naull and Jozan get down. The priest took a small stone from the rubble on the ground and gently cupped it between his hands. He took a deep, steadying breath and whispered a prayer to Pelor.
“Sun Father, give this servant the blessing of your holy light.
Show him the path before and behind,
Bathed in radiance. Bathed in truth. Bathed in your will.”
Darkness persisted for a few breaths. Jozan spoke.
“Turn your eyes away or you’ll be blinded.” Regdar didn’t argue. He shut his eyes tight. A moment later, a brilliant explosion of black dots danced behind his eyelids as a powerful light washed over the area. He turned away, looking down and slowly opening his eyes so they could adjust. He saw the fuzzy shapes of Lidda and Naull, both blinking and shaking the spots from their own vision. But Jozan looked into the magical light with eyes wide open - as if the sudden explosion of light didn’t even affect him. Perhaps that was part of Pelor’s grace, the warrior thought as he drew his eyes fully open.
Jozan stood holding the stone, which glowed bright as a small sun. The light spilled out in all directions, acting like a torch that created no heat. Bright light cast about twenty paces from them, then another twenty dimmed into darkness. He took hold of the stone and walked over to the ledge.
“Be careful,” Regdar said. “The stalactites would kill you if they hit you.” He pointed up to the dim shapes, now somewhat easier to see in the spell’s light, and Jozan nodded. He stepped to the edge, still keeping watch above, and dropped the stone. Lidda shifted to the broken bridge lip, staring at the falling light as it sped past the walls of the cave. It illuminated everything as it went; cracks and fissures that hadn’t seen light in impossible ages were bathed in golden light. It continued to fall, the light slowly fading away and Lidda furrowed her brow.
It struck something hard, then rolled away. Finally they heard a small splashing noise.
“Well,” Lidda said as she stood up. “At least we know the fall is a hard landing, then a wet one.” She shrugged. “It’s at least a hundred feet down to what looks like another, not destroyed, natural bridge. Then more into water. I can’t tell how far exactly.”
“Did you see any paths we could take down?” Naull asked, looking at the destroyed bridge curiously.
The halfling woman shook her head. “Nothing you could make,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m an excellent climber and Regdar does a good job too, I’d guess.”
Regdar nodded.
“But you and Jozan; I can’t hold any of you up and Regdar would fall if he tried to save you if you tripped or slipped.” She looked around, as if trying to see another path in the dying lantern light. Naull cleared her throat.
“I can make a bridge.” She said, the tone almost matter-of-fact.
Regdar laughed.
“What? I’m not joking, Regdar.” She got a look of frustration on her face and he immediately stopped laughing.
“No, no. I’m sorry Naull. I didn’t mean to make you think I didn’t believe you.” He shook his head. “But of course a wizard has the right tool for the job.” He half smiled and she, slowly, smiled in return.
“Yeah, yeah. Mind telling us how you plan on making a bridge, missy?” Lidda asked as she moved closer to the young mage. Jozan nodded.
“Yes, I’m quite curious as well, Naull.” His voice seemed strange in the cavern; willowy, almost. Regdar thought he saw worry creasing his face as he bent to lift the lantern. Even at the lowest of settings, Regdar knew they’d only have another hour or so before the light went completely out. Then they’d really be in the dark.
Naull pulled the spider web from her component pouch. “I can make a spider silk bridge.” She motioned to the other side of the destroyed bridge. “It should stretch.”
“Is that going to hold us?” Jozan asked uncertainty.
She nodded but Regdar had his reservations. He was a big man and that meant he was a heavy man, even without his armor and shield. He looked out into the deep darkness of the drop off. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to make the climb and the idea of crawling over spider webs with a more than hundred foot drop didn’t sound good.
But there were few other choices.
Regdar took a step back and let Naull walk towards the lip. She pulled the small spider web cutting out. He watched as she splayed her fingers out strangely, looking as if the movement was uncomfortable. She spoke the words of her spell and put the web between her fingers, pulling it apart like a woven basket being torn in half. The spell exploded out from the young woman, a massive blanket of webbing suddenly appearing from nowhere. Naull deftly twisted her hands, little fingers rubbing against one another like a spider’s spinnerets; she shaped the dense, thick strands of the web into a rough bridge shape that extended to the other side.
Lidda whistled. Jozan chuckled.
Regdar just stood, silently impressed by the skill of this young woman. She turned, smiling at him in such a way that it made his heart beat faster. He was worried he was blushing but realized she wouldn’t see it in the dim light.
It feels good to have her smile at me, he thought.
“There we go! A bridge!” Naull laughed, clapping her hands together as the focus of her spell - the webbing - shriveled into blackened strings. These fell apart as they landed silently on the stone floor.
“And if we have to do that again?” Lidda asked.
Naull smirked. “I have a little more webbing, Lidda. Enough for a few more castings, I think. Though hopefully we won’t need to make too many more bridges.” She chuckled.
“Alright,” Lidda said. “Who’s first to walk the spider bridge?”
“I’ll go,” Regdar offered. “I’m the heaviest.”
“I’ll say.” Lidda smiled, puffing her cheeks out.
“I’m pretty confident that I could toss you across, if you don’t feel it's safe enough, Lidda.” He took a step towards her and the halfling woman threw her arms up, shaking her head.
“Okay, okay. I get it - no jokes about your weight. You’re very bulky, heavy weight.” She took a few steps and stood right behind Naull, who giggled and stared at the approaching warrior. Regdar shook his head.
Like a child, he thought as he handed his shield to Naull. She looked a bit confused and he explained.
“Better to limit how much weight, just in case. I’ll test it, see if it’s fine and then come back for it.” He smiled at her and she returned it, her bright green eyes holding him for a long moment.
Jozan cleared his throat. Naull nodded to him, handing the priest the shield.
“I’m wearing a bit less than you are, Regdar. I can carry the shield, so Naull can keep her hands free and maybe save one of us if we plummet.” He said it jokingly but Regdar could see worry in his face; he wasn’t so sure they wouldn’t fall.
Regdar moved forward to the lip; the webbing held tight to the old rock, stretching several feet onto the slab they stood upon. It was woven exactly as if a spider had made it and as he stepped onto it, Regdar felt the sticky substance try to take hold of his boot. He pulled his foot up, the effort to become unstuck more than he expected, and he started the slow process of walking over the webbing. As his foot left the stone, he felt the web bow underneath his weight.
Jozan let out a gasp and Lidda said “oh, wow” before Naull shushed her.
“I don’t want to hear any comments. From anyone.” The big warrior said.
Regdar felt unsteady, completely unbalanced and there was nothing for him to reach out to grab. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as he started to sink lower, the weight of his body and armor dragging the webbing down. For some reason he expected to hear the snapping of ropes and plunge into the dark but the web held. He was about five feet below the lip now and the webbing stopped stretching. He let out a sigh.
“I trust your magic,” he called out to Naull. He almost believed himself.
“Little late not to, yeah?” Lidda commented. Regdar heard her say “ow, Naull” and assumed she’d gotten an elbow. He turned to look back at his destination. He pulled his boot off the bridge and started forward, one foot in front of the other. It felt like it took ages for him to cross thirty feet - the constant shifting to the sides, the dips in the webbing and as he looked down he realized he could see right through the makeshift spell bridge. The webbing formed a lattice beneath him that was as filled with holes as an old, termite eaten fence. There was nothing but all consuming darkness beneath his feet. He looked away as his stomach crawled up into his throat.
“Bad idea, old man,” he told himself. Regdar kept going, finally reaching the other ledge and he pulled himself up. Sticky webbing clung to him but he was able to brush it away easily enough. He stood, now on the opposite ledge, and waved. He saw the dim shapes of the others backlit by Jozan’s lantern. He wiped some sweat off his brow and took a deep breath - he realized he’d been breathing more shallowly, as if that might somehow help him.
“Easy enough,” he said, his voice bouncing all around him for a moment.
Jozan moved forward, holding Regdar’s shield tucked under his arm and slowly traversing the gap. The webbing bowed once again from his weight but not nearly as much as with Regdar. He was halfway across the expanse when several small stones from above him clattered against his scalemail. The priest looked up, as did Regdar but there was nothing - just inky blackness.
Jozan shifted his lantern upwards, the beam banishing darkness and revealing the rocky ceiling above.
Several stones fell again and Regdar heard Jozan say something.
“Oh Pelor.”
One of the stalactites dislodged itself from the roof, careening towards the priest and his lantern. As it dropped, the stony surface of the rock - what Regdar had thought was a rock, at least - cracked and flared out like a hideous octopus. It fell so fast, the warrior could barely track its descent. Jozan and his light were suddenly gone; covered by an impenetrable darkness that covered almost the entire bridge length.
The world went black. Jozan tried to lift his lantern, the other hand holding Regdar’s shield and he felt the weight of the creature slam into him. He had just enough time to lift the shield but the force of the thing hitting him knocked it aside, allowing thick ropey limbs to wrap themselves around his upper body and immediately constrict. He felt the immense power behind the thing's tentacles and they crushed the air from his lungs as he tried vainly to move his arms. They were trapped, though, and he couldn’t get a breath out to even attempt a spell.
He tried to release the shield, freeing his hand to get to his mace, but the thing clung so tightly to him that it locked the shield in place. The priest couldn’t move. He felt the web bridge beneath his boots bow slightly - the creature couldn’t weigh much, so he didn’t think it would snap the magical spider webs. But it was so damned strong! He felt the digging of barbs into his exposed flesh and around the shield, which he felt more than saw in his blinded state. Suddenly he heard a loud snapping noise; a sharp pain struck the side of his head, digging into the metal of the helmet that he wore. The creature was biting through it! He felt blood bubble up on the side of his head and he blinked his eyes to keep them clear. He struggled, wrenching to the side with all of his might but he couldn’t free himself.
The sensation of drowning flooded his mind and he tried to gulp in a breath. He managed a weak one but the thing stiffened again, shifting its many limbs and squeezing harder. Regdar’s shield was pressed painfully into the top of Jozan’s head and he let out a whispering cry for help.
There was no response. He felt true fear bleed into his mind and as he closed his eyes against the blood running down them, he prayed.
Lidda watched the stone fall and then unfurl, a perfect sphere of darkness enveloping Jozan - the entire area went pitch black. She couldn’t see but she heard the sound of Jozan weakly cry out, grunting and fighting with whatever just dropped onto him. Regdar was shouting and Naull called out as well.
The halfling instinctively dropped low; crouching down to make herself as small as possible.
“Naull, don’t move!” She called out, shifting forward slightly. She felt the edge of the stone lip and the sticky webbing - she’d been closest to it after Jozan had started his crossing.
“I can’t see a thing,” Naull responded. “We have to help Jozan!”
“Follow my voice.” Lidda said. “But go slowly, otherwise you’ll end up off the edge.” She could hear the mage shifting forward, stumbling as she tried to reach her. Lidda heard a cracking above her and she guessed more of whatever those creatures had been were falling. Naull was moving closer and her fingertips brushed Lidda’s hair just as a whoosh of wind buffeted both of them. Naull let out a scream that was immediately cut off; muffled as if a bag had been thrown over her head. She fell, the sound of her staff clattering to the floor loudly. Regdar shouted.
Lidda felt another whoosh close by and shifted to the left, tumbling away from the unseen creature as it landed.
“Damn it!” Lidda cursed as she blindly moved away.
She felt a strange, leathery appendage shift over her foot and she kicked out with a yell. She drew her shortsword - Lidda couldn’t see the thing but she could still swing the weapon to keep it at bay. She stabbed out, feeling the tip of her blade sink into flesh. The creature, whatever it was, let out a warbling screech that reminded Lidda of bats. It flailed, rolling closer and forcing her to step back again. She stood, only vaguely aware of where the creature was but stabbed again at her feet.
A gurgling death rattle followed and Lidda tore her weapon away, the odd smell of oil hitting her nose as the creature shuddered nearby. It stopped moving and the blinded halfling called out to Naull. There was no response. She swore.
“Damn it, Naull! I can’t see you - where are you?” The only answer was a muffled shouting but the direction was distorted. She’d moved away from the ledge but now she didn’t know where Naull was. Regdar called out.
“Jozan!” He screamed. She heard the sound of his armor shifting. She guessed he was headed back towards the bridge.
“Regdar, don’t move!” She yelled.
Another whoosh passed by but she dropped to her knees, the creature sailing over her head and slamming into the stone hard - the echoing made it impossible for her to tell where it had gone, though. She heard it scramble and shriek but she was up, using her shortsword as a guide; it touched the stone before her and she waved it in a half circle, trying to find the young mage. She strained to hear the muffled cries and a shifting to her right caught her ears. She shuffled forward, feeling her foot hit a bulk. She placed a hand down and felt the leathery skin, hearing the sound of Naull’s strangled voice crying out. Got it!
Lidda dropped to her knees. Somehow the thing had attached itself to Naull’s upper body and head. She tried to pry it off but her hands were slick with sweat and she smelled blood. It felt like it was crushing Naull and her whimpers of pain were heavily muffled by the monster’s body. Its skin was too slippery to find purchase. Lidda brought her blade up. She couldn’t stab the thing for fear of hitting Naull. But she shifted her blade and dragged it over the creature’s skin, trying to shave a chunk of flesh away. It screamed and she heard the sound of bones popping beneath it, Naull’s shout barely audible as the thing kept crushing her.
“Die, damn it! Die!” Lidda screamed, slicing at the thing again and again until it stopped making noises.
Naull moaned under the dead creature and Lidda dropped her blade, the ringing of its striking stone in the halfling’s ears. She pulled at the creature’s dead body, shifting it off of Naull - the woman let out a grunt and sucked in air, as if she had been suffocating beneath the thing’s bulk. Lidda reached out and felt her. There was a thick, gooey substance covering her face and upper body and Lidda smelled the odor of blood more strongly now. Her thin hand passed over something on the woman’s chest and she pulled away what felt like a flexible tooth. Lidda shuddered and tossed it into the darkness surrounding them. Naull made a gagging noise.
“Oh gods, but that was disgusting!” She grabbed hold of Lidda.
“Can you make light, Naull?” Lidda asked, turning her head in the direction of where the bridge was. Or had been. She couldn’t tell now.
“The only thing I can do is create flames but that light won’t last long. And I can’t risk hitting Jozan or destroying my web.” Her voice sounded strained.
“Aim your spell up, then.” Lidda helped the mage stand. “All I need is to see the thing - they don’t seem very hardy.”
Lidda heard Naull’s voice, the soft chanting of her spell filling the halfling woman’s ears with strange words. Lidda felt the sensation of prickling crawl over her exposed skin and it suddenly felt as if she was standing next to a furnace; heat washed over her in the darkness. Naull spoke.
“Look away.”
“I would if I knew where away was,” Lidda commented and then turned to hear Regdar curse again. It sounded like more of the things had dropped where he was and he grunted in the darkness.
“Furrus ferain!” The young mage called out loudly.
An explosion of orange-red flames illuminated the cave as a fan of fire burst from the outstretched fingertips of Naull. Her hands were surrounded in arcane letters in deep red, circling her wrists and extending down to her fingers. They shifted wildly, spinning so fast that even if Lidda knew the language - she didn’t - the halfling woman wouldn’t be able to discern what they said. She was awed for a moment but snapped out of her trance. The halfling snatched up her fallen sword. She turned, seeing the now brightly illuminated area.
A dozen of the creatures were sailing through the air, swooping around the place. The brilliant light seemed to have temporarily disoriented them; maybe the heat of the spell was something they feared. They fluttered, flailing and falling in all different directions. One swung by Lidda, who stepped to the side and delivered a downward slice that cut a horrible gouge in the thing’s back. Or head. She couldn’t tell even with the light from the spell. It collapsed to the stone, sliding forward until it hit the cave wall. It lay still.
Naull shifted her spell, still calling out the words of power - a chant, repeated over and over. The flames licked at several of the things and they caught immediately, as if they were made of dry tinder. They shrieked, screaming as their flaming bodies fell down into the dark waters below the group. Lidda could see the tips of Naull’s fingers glowing as the flames left her, the woman’s face a mix of concentration and pain. The spell must hurt, Lidda thought.
She turned to where Jozan was.
A massive black sphere of darkness enveloped the priest and most of the bridge where he was. The edges were bubbling, as if the darkness was a liquid and as Lidda watched, she thought she saw some kind of movement within. The bridge shifted back and forth, looking more unstable with each passing breath. The halfling woman was surprised the priest hadn’t already pitched over the side.
She still couldn’t see him, though. Lidda saw Regdar struggling with two of the creatures. They scuttled across the stone floor and flared their bodies out, the strange head a point with ridges - maybe how they held onto the ceiling. They whirled around, flying somehow, and the warrior shifted his blade back and forth defensively. He caught one with his sword and cleaved it in two, oily pink blood splattering him. Lidda looked down and as the light from Naull’s spell began to fade, she saw her hands were covered in the reeking stuff.
“I can’t hold this much longer, Lidda!” Naull shouted, twisting her hands to catch another creature in the flames. The fire was beginning to dim to a dull red, slowly drawing back into the mage’s fingers. Naull’s hands shook uncontrollably and her face was contorted in real pain.
Lidda cursed.
“Shit!” She yelled, dropping the shortsword, and drawing her two daggers and spinning them in her deft hands. She let them fly, praying to Olidammara that they’d strike the creature and not Jozan. As the darkness rushed around her, stealing her vision again, she heard a squeal of pain and though Naull’s spell was finished there was still light. Whatever the darkness had been dropped, revealing the dim outline of Jozan still holding his lantern. The dead body of the thing slumped off of him, striking the web bridge and then slipping into the darkness below. The priest looked wounded. His head was bleeding beneath his helm and his lantern was streaked with blood. It gave the entire area an eerie red tinge. He shifted Regdar’s shield away from his head.
“Oh shit, my daggers!” Lidda yelled. She heard the creature’s body splash somewhere far below.
“Well spent, I think.” Naull said as she moved forward, snatching up her staff and rushing over to the bridge.
“A little help?” Regdar yelled and then he was plunged into darkness just as Jozan had been. The impenetrable black sphere extended over the warrior and some of the bridge as well. Naull shifted slowly, uncertainly, past Jozan who had crouched down. He was breathing heavily.
“You alright pops?” Lidda asked as she made her way behind the mage, shifting forward with her shortsword in hand.
He coughed and placed a hand on his head, pulling away a mess of bright blood. His face looked pale but he shook his head.
“It’s Jozan, Lidda. Please.” He placed his hand against his head and wiped blood that had dribbled into his eye, calling on the power of his god as a golden radiance spilled from his fingers and the blood around his wound flaked away slowly. She turned, watching Naull stand precariously swaying on the bridge.
“Maybe it’s a bad idea for all of us to be here?” She called out.
“I need to be close!” Naull yelled, throwing her hands up and out. The woman threw sand out from her fingers as a glittering mist of purple, red, green and blue coalesced between her outstretched arms and blanketed itself over the darkened area. Another creature flew past, missing Naull and falling into the darkness. There was a grunt, a curse from Regdar and the sound of shrieking.
Naull spoke the words of her spell loudly, the glittering colors flaring brightly for a second.
The darkness went silent and there were two thuds. The shadowy sphere dropped away, bleeding into the dim image of Regdar that Jozan’s pale lantern showed. The blood on the glass of the lantern gave Regdar a horrible appearance, like some terrible shadowy beast covered in blood and gore. The warrior looked relieved and brought his sword down in a two-handed chop that sliced one of the things in half. It gurgled. The other thing didn’t move, save to shift silently in breathing. As if it were asleep. Regdar finished this one swiftly as well. After the last swing, Regdar let out a long yawn and his face suddenly looked exhausted. His eye drooped for a moment but he seemed to shake it off.
“Sorry Regdar,” Naull said.
He yawned again, shaking his head one more time before blinking his eyes.
“No time for a nap, old man.” Lidda teased, taking another look down into the darkness and lamenting the loss of her daggers. That left her with only one more. She gently touched the thin blade hidden in her thigh sheath.
After the three crossed the bridge, Lidda looked over the creatures; they were like strange, rocky-colored octopuses, with flared bodies of leathery muscle. As she examined them, the halfling realized they were only about her size - they’d seemed so much bigger in the darkness. Each had ten tentacle-like limbs that had barbed suckers lining the underside and their heads were oddly shaped. A thick, black central beak looked as if it retracted into their bodies. There were no eyes that Lidda could find. The things creeped her out and she gave one a swift kick. Her foot came back with that oily pink blood and she tried, in vain, to kick it off.
“They probably hid among the rocks above,” Jozan said. The man looked tired and though his head wound had healed a good amount of blood had run down his face and stained his vestments. “Perfect camouflage. Whatever darkness they created must've been magical.”
“I thought the same thing,” Naull began, looking over the dead creatures alongside Lidda. “It reminded me of a squid’s ink, though this one was used for attacking prey and not fleeing.” She gently shifted the creature over with her staff and looked at the beak. “You’re lucky it didn’t take an ear.” She gave Jozan a sympathetic look and he nodded.
“Lucky for Lidda’s good aim.” He commented.
“Let’s get the hells out of here then, before more drop down.” Lidda returned. “You can thank my masterful skills when we aren’t going to die.”
The other side of the bridge had a single, large opening that turned sharply to the left and seemed to continue down. Lidda thought the entire place felt like a weird, poorly constructed underground city - maybe dwarves had lived here at some point. She couldn’t be sure. She didn’t like it, whoever had built the damn place.
Jozan held his lantern up and searched the relatively web-clear entrance deeper into the mountain. He moved to it and looked inside. “It goes down further; natural steps but I see no webs.”
“Is anyone else worried there aren’t any spider webs? What’s keeping the spiders from coming this way?” Lidda asked. No one responded but several looks were exchanged. “Yeah, me too.” She sighed, shoulders slumped.
Regdar moved to stand beside Jozan, Naull close behind. The young wizard motioned to his belt. “I think it might be time for the sunrod.”
The tall man pulled the item from his belt, smacked it lightly against the stone wall and a light like a torch burst from it. Inside the gem at the tip swirled a strange, iridescent illumination that reminded Lidda of a tide pool; twisting ever inward in a stream. Regdar attached it to his waist and nodded.
“Let’s move.”
They followed a natural staircase down, then leveled out into a large hallway that stretched far before them. The ceiling was covered in vast spider webs and the party slowed their pace. Jozan’s lantern died not long after they reached this place. He left it behind. Lidda held off complaining about no one bringing more oil, since she hadn’t either. From their huddled position, keeping clear of the hundreds of small holes littering this area, Lidda couldn’t see much. The alcoves cut into the rock were too dark for her eyes to see much but shadow.
Lidda felt like they were being watched. She nervously looked up, expecting the same creatures to fall from the ceiling far above them. But there was nothing. Just the silence broken up by their footsteps.
The four pushed forward, Lidda cursing the people of Fairbye for not hanging her faster.
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