by Alan Black
Tanden followed his men back into the light. He collected his bow and quiver, sliding them over his head onto a shoulder to leave his hands free. Looking around the cave, he could not see anything they’d brought with them that had not been picked up by Tuller and Seenger.
Seated at the cave entrance, watching the canyon, Gadon glanced back occasionally at the three men. All the while, he berated Tuller for walking into the darkness and becoming lost.
Tuller cut his brother’s tirade short when he said, “I found water.”
Gadon hesitated, speechless for a moment, and then said, “Really?”
Tuller fixed an exaggerated frown on his face and said, “Oh, Gadon. I didn’t want it to ever come to this, but Mother told me years ago that she found you under a rock, that you aren’t my real brother. I’ve lied to you and to everyone else by calling you my brother. I wouldn’t lie to you about finding water at a time like this.”
Gadon replied, “Baugh! Under a rock indeed. Someday, someone will teach you to respect your elders, boy.”
Laughing with Tanden and Seenger, Tuller said, “If I ever respect my elders, you’ll be first in line, old man.”
Tanden explained to Gadon their plan to hide by the spring beyond the darkness. Gaving him a hand to help him stand, they moved out of Seenger’s way. Removing his tunic, Seenger dragged it around in the dust, effectively removing any trace of their passage.
Gadon jabbed Tanden in the shoulder with a stubby finger, “See, Tuller found water before your gods came to provide us any.”
Tanden locked an arm around the shorter man’s head, rapping him lightly on his forehead with the knuckles from his free hand. “Gadon,” he said, “I know that you may find this hard to believe, but did it occur to you that the six gods put that spring there for Tuller to find? Or, that maybe Tuller is an instrument of their will?”
Gadon wriggled free and replied, “Tuller? An instrument of the six gods? Ha! Without me to guide him around by the hand that boy couldn’t find the ground with his butt when he sits down.”
Seenger called out, “Clear.”
The four stood at the back of the cave looking toward the light at the entrance. It looked undisturbed.
Tanden nodded. “Tuller, lead us to the spring. Gadon, you follow close behind Tuller. We’ll put I-Sheera between us. Seenger, continue sweeping the dust until our footprints disappear into the dark.
Tuller said, “Keep your heads low and crawl slowly. I banged my head once on this ceiling. Believe me; these rocks are as hard as any I’ve ever pounded my skull against.” He crouched down and disappeared into the darkness.
Gadon crouched down, continuing after his brother, muttering, “Slowly, he says. I have shards of rocks poking my knees and scraping all the skin off my legs and he says go slow. I couldn’t hurry if I wanted to. Wait! I smell rotting cabbage. Tanden, are you sure there aren’t any trolls in this cave? I’m sure I smell rotting cabbage. No. Wait! Maybe not. That’s just Tuller’s butt. Move forward, boy. Wheeeee-ooooo! What have you been eating?”
Tanden crouched down to the floor imitating the three who disappeared into the dark before him. Putting his left hand on the wall, he ducked his head, and crawled slowly forward. He heard I-Sheera ahead of him and Seenger following closely behind. Gadon was rambling on about the temperature, the hardness of the rocks, and how generally miserable his life had become.
In spite of having his friends and crew surrounding him, Tanden was nervous. Trolls and goblins did not exist, but he had never experienced such blackness. Wiggling his fingers in front of his eyes, he could not see them. Even the darkest night had shades of dark and shades of darker. Here there were no shades at all. Tanden realized, for the first time in his life, he was not seeing the dark, but the complete absence of light. He noticed he was holding his breath, but spotting a dim glow ahead caused him to exhale in relief. He hoped no one heard his ragged exhale. It would be best for the others not to know he was afraid of the pitch black dark.
The dim light grew stronger and stronger until he could see well enough to follow the others into a small room. In the middle, lit by a shaft of light from above, was a clear pool of water. Tanden moved to the water’s edge slightly to his left. Three of the others dropped to their bellies beside the pool. Gadon and I-Sheera sucked greedily at the cold water. Tuller drank only slightly less so.
Tanden scooped up a double handful of water, allowing it trickle through his parched mouth into his dry throat. He wanted to bury his face into the refreshing water, but refrained, struggling to be watchful and alert.
“Take care. We’ve been without water for too long. Too much, too fast and you’ll get cramps. Don’t come to me for sympathy if you make yourselves sick.”
Seenger joined him at the pool’s edge. Both slowly scooped water into their cupped hands and lifted their hands to their mouths. Both remained alert. The ogre stared back into the darkness behind them. Tanden’s eyes flicked in every direction trying to see everywhere at once.
Light filtered down from a crack in the ceiling. Though they could not see the sky, it provided enough that they could see clearly. The room was ten or twelve feet high in the center and almost the same in width and length. The pool of water formed by a spring, was about a foot deep, and ran the full length of the cave, hugging the far wall. Tanden readily saw the water ripple as it bubbled up to the surface. The far end of the room split into three tunnels, each heading deeper into the darkness. The pool of water pinched into a small stream slithering down one of the tunnels.
Tanden placed a hand on Seenger’s shoulder and said, “I think we’re safe here for awhile. We should be able to hear the Coodhars long before we could see them if they try to follow us through the tunnel.”
Gadon sat up and added, “If they could work up the courage to follow us.” He hesitated and said, “Strange.” The heavyset man jammed his hand into the pool and raised it again, dripping in the cool air. He moved it around a bit and repeated the process, all the while deliberately dripping water on Tuller.
Tanden quietly watched the man. He had known Gadon for so many years he knew now was not the time to distract the man from his thoughts. He watched as Gadon stood up and poked a wet hand into each of the tunnels leading out of the room. He dipped his hand into the pool again and stepped around Tanden and Seenger to reach out his wet hand into the tunnel they had just used.
Everyone was now watching Gadon move about, from curiosity or simply because he was the only thing moving.
Finally, Gadon said, “We may not have to go out the way we came in.”
“What!” Tuller exclaimed.
Tanden said, “I think I understand, but explain it so we all know for sure.”
Gadon reached over to his brother and slapped him on the back of the head, “Ha! I thought you said Mother called you the smart one. Not this time, boy. Any good sailor should be able to tell you which way the wind blows.”
He turned to Tanden, “Airflow. I can feel the wind through the air in here. It doesn’t flow from this crack in the top and down the tunnel to the mouth of the cave like you’d expect. The air flows from this crack, down the way the water flows. We should be able to follow the airflow out to another opening.”
Tuller said, “You forget big brother. Air and water can squeeze through openings much smaller than you or me…especially you.”
Gadon snorted, “That’s what you think. I’ve been so starved and worn out for the last two days that I’m a mere wisp of my former self. I’m a puff of smoke. I’m the wind and light as air. Besides, I think I’d rather go out the way we came and fight the Coodhars than sit in this hole for two or three days until they tire of waiting on us and go away.”
In a bare whisper, I-Sheera said, “The White Wind.”
Gadon, the closest to her, asked, “What, girl? Speak up. You whisper so quiet you’ll make me think that I’ve gone deaf.”
She replied, “I said, the White Wind. Can we wait two or three days?”
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Both Tuller and Gadon shook their heads.
Tanden said, “I don’t think so. Heraclius is a poor sailor at best, but we’ll miss him for sure if we wait longer than another day.”
“Then we can’t wait and do nothing, can we?” she asked.
Tanden nodded. She was right. He needed to regain his focus, to reset his eyes upon his goal of regaining the White Wind. Tanden reached out to her placing the palm of his hand on her cheek, cupping her face.
“Thank you,” he said. “I-Sheera, that is a wise question. We haven’t come this far to give up. Retreating is death. We lose the White Wind if we wait. We’ll test Gadon’s idea and follow the wind and water as all good sailors should.” Tanden overrode objections and questions by saying, “I know it’ll be dark, but we’ve just proven we can move from one point of light to the next. If we stay together, each person staying in touch with the one in front and the one aft, we can form a living chain to find another way out.”
“Good,” Gadon said. “There’s no reason to delay. If we’re going to do it, let’s do it. Who goes first?”
Tuller poked his brother’s belly and said, “Gadon should go first. The rest of us should have an easy path to travel if he can squeeze through every tight spot.”
Everyone laughed. No one mentioned that Seenger was the largest.
Tanden answered, “That’s a good plan, Tuller. But I think since you’ve already proven your success in moving about in the unknown darkness, I believe you should go first. The rest of us can follow in any order. I’ll go last. If we find we can’t move forward, then we can come back here and wait. We lose nothing by trying.”
Gadon said, “We will too, have lost nothing! Just the effort and all the skin off my hands and knees.”
I-Sheera leaned closer to Tanden and whispered in his ear.
He smiled and said, “This is no time to be shy, girl.” He pointed to one of the tunnels they would not be taking. “Take your pick.”
“Men, if you have to empty your bladders, do it now. I have no desire to crawl through your puddles.”
Tuller nodded, “I guess this water did run straight through me.” He turned and headed for the same tunnel I-Sheera had stepped into.
“Me too,” Seenger agreed.
Tanden coughed loudly at the two. When they turned to look at him, he pointed at the other unused tunnel, motioning for them to use it instead.
Gadon said to Tanden, “When did you become such a prude? I can remember when you peed out the second story window in full view of a market street.”
Tanden replied, “I was drunk that day, but it’s not for me. It’s for her. She’s lived a different life than we have. You know how some easterners are about body parts.”
“Crazy is what they are. They hide and shrink like they have something no one else has. What does this girl have that Tuller and Seenger haven’t seen before?”
“Nothing different, my friend. Yet, I do find her special. Don’t you?”
Gadon smiled, “You like this one?”
“Of course! Don’t you see how different she is from other women?”
“Honestly, Tanden, I don’t know what to think about her. Until a couple of days ago, I wouldn’t have given a fart in a whirlwind for her.”
“Me neither.”
“Now…well, I just don’t know. She’s proven her mettle, but she changes too fast for me to follow. She’s a fire-breathing warrior queen one moment and the next you’d swear she’s a lost little girl. Confusing. I think I like my women a bit more simple. But Tanden, you never like anything simple. You never see anything for what it looks like. By all my father deems holy, if you want the girl, take her, and spare the rest of us from your adolescent love struck ways.”
Tanden said, “Adolescent! You wouldn’t know a real woman if she came up and bit you.”
“Ha! That’s what you think. I remember being bit once and I knew right away who did it.”
Tuller exited the side tunnel. Quickly followed by Seenger.
Tuller said, “Remind me not to try that again.”
“Try what?” Gadon responded.
“This tunnel is too short to stand up straight in. We had to pee bent over at the waist. Seenger practically wet his own chest.”
I-Sheera startled them all when she stepped out of her tunnel and said, “Squat.”
When Tuller looked baffled she said, “Squat. Next time, squat down. Your knees bend don’t they?”
“Enough,” Tanden said, cutting off Tuller’s reply. “You can all discuss the merits of personal toilet habits at a later time. We have work to do. Before we go…” Without finishing his sentence, he pulled his knife from the sheath at his waist and sliced four wide strips from his tunic. He bound Gadon’s knees with two of the leather straps and covered his own knees with the remaining strips.
Following his example, Tuller, Seenger and I-Sheera cut strips from their clothes. Each wore leather pants taken from dead Hummdhars, so their knees were protected. They bound their hands with the leather to protect them from the rocks as well. I-Sheera handed Tanden two strips of leather from her tunic. He passed one to Gadon. Cutting his strip in two, he wrapped his own hands for protection.
Tanden looked over the group as they prepared to move forward. They had been through a lot the last two days. He wondered whether he was doing the right thing by asking them to continue through the cave. They looked ragged. The strain was evident on each of them. Even the unstoppable Gadon was wearing down despite retaining his good humor. I-Sheera looked exhausted, but Tanden ceased being surprised by her strength and drive. Years of servitude and virtual slavery made her tougher than she looked. Tuller and Seenger were bearing up as well as could be expected of hardy sailors.
“Well,” Tanden said. “No reason to delay. Everyone ready?”
Gadon said, “What’re you asking us for? We’re waiting on you. A man could die of boredom standing around ‘til you make up your mind to do something. Tuller, get a move on, boy. We don’t have all day.”
One by one, the small band crouched down and moved into the tunnel. Soon they were on their hands and knees crawling slowly through the dark. The small stream wandered from side to side, sometimes filling the tunnel floor from wall to wall. The water had worn smooth any sharp rocks, but it was cold, adding to their discomfort.
Once again, in total darkness, Tanden thought to close his eyes. He reasoned if he could not see, then why have them open. Strangely enough, he was clumsy with his eyes shut. He bumped into I-Sheera ahead of him and even smacked his head on the ceiling. He opened his eyes again. Though he could not see a thing, he felt more in control, more coordinated. Experimenting a few times, he opened and shut his eyes at various intervals. After slipping face first into the stream with his eyes closed, he decided he would keep his eyes open, whether his vision worked or not. He pondered the complexities of the human body, a marvelously made machine.
As they crawled, he could hear Tuller, Gadon, and Seenger talking. Rather, he could hear Tuller talking, Gadon complaining, and Seenger providing a grunt or two for good measure. As close as he was to them, the distance was too far for him to follow their conversation. Tanden thought it was like a game of blind follow the leader.
Occasionally, Tuller would advise them of a low overhead to duck under or a boulder to slide around. Each person would pass the information back to the next. Tanden received his information from I-Sheera just ahead of him.
Tuller stayed close to the left wall of the tunnel. The right wall and the ceiling were sometimes close and sometimes out of reach. At times, Tanden felt sure they were in an open spot where they could stand and stretch, but they had no way of knowing in the dark without stopping to check, thereby slowing their progress. He believed, staying near the stream along the left tunnel wall gave them their best chance of finding their way to daylight and an exit. Even in the dark, cold water was an obvious road to follow.
Time passed or Tanden began to think of time passing.
Without the sun, sky, or stars to give him a clue, he was unsure how much time had passed. He tried counting his paces, then realized he was not sure how far he moved with each crawl forward. He worked on counting spans of hands and counting seconds to calculate their rate of speed. When he crawled headfirst into a rock, he decided it might be better to try focusing what he was doing.
Tuller’s voice rang out suddenly and then faded away from them. Everyone froze. A cacophony of voices shouted and called out to Tuller, echoing up and through the tunnel.
Tanden finally bellowed, “Quiet!”
It grew still, no one speaking. Listening closely, Tanden could hear the gentle splashing and rippling of the water, but nothing else.
“Gadon,” he called, “where’s your brother?”
“I don’t know. We were talking and I had my hand on his ankle. He shouted for me to stop and then he was gone.” Gadon’s voice grew shaky. “He didn’t fall, I’d swear to it. His voice faded away, but not down. His leg pulled forward out of my grasp. I’ve reached out as far as I can but I can’t find him without moving after him.”
Tanden said, “Don’t move yet. Seenger, can you grab Gadon by the legs? Hold him tight.”
Seenger answered, “Yes, Captain. I have him. Nothing will take him without taking me as well.”
Tanden commanded, “Gadon, stretch out on your belly and see if you can reach Tuller.”
After a moment, Gadon grunted and said, “I feel nothing but rocks and cold water. Wait.”
Tanden listened impatiently.
Gadon called loudly, “Yes. I understand.” His voice floated back to the others. “Could you hear him?” The relief in is voice was evident to all.
Tanden answered, “I didn’t hear anything.”
“Tuller is all right. He says we should move forward slowly. The rocks become very slick and smooth along the water. It’s all downhill and he says we’ll slide along unhurt until we stop. But he says we should go only one at a time or we’ll pile up at the bottom.”
Tanden said, “I’ve banged my head enough today. Did he say feet first or head first?”