by Murray, Dean
Betreec mentally flogged herself at forgetting such a small detail. She'd always loved how exotic his name sounded, but never really stopped to consider the implications of him having been born elsewhere. Some of the girls who'd lived in the villages had complained the other girls made them feel stupid when they first arrived at the Capital, but she'd never wondered what it must have been like for I'rone to have come here as a young boy.
"Unfortunately the 'Great Tunnel' still hasn't been discovered."
It took a moment to realize I'rone was making a joke. The great tunnel was an elusive corridor rumored to connect the Capital to each and every one of the villages, which some of the older miners swore would someday be found. The more devout occasionally cited obscure passages from Teachings of the Light as evidence of the tunnel's existence.
Verses about bringing all people together, and smoothing the way aside, Betreec had always thought it one of the sillier superstitions. Now, faced with a cold beyond anything she'd imagined, she wasn't so sure but that she'd pick the finding of the great tunnel over the fulfillment of any of the half dozen or so of what had previously been her fondest bedtime stories.
I'rone pulled a thin gurra wool scarf from the pack and handed it back to her. "It's not cold enough yet to make this stream freeze solid yet, but if you find the air becomes cold enough to make your lungs burn, wrap this around your face."
"You mean it gets colder than this? Cold enough for water to stop moving?"
"Of course it does. Where else would the snow come from?"
"I don't know. I thought it just fell from the sky."
I'rone pulled a similar scarf out for himself, wrapped it twice about his neck and then shrugged at her.
"It does fall from the sky, but it's made of water. Sometimes we had to melt it in order to have something to drink."
Betreec suddenly wondered if she should already know what I'rone was telling her. It boggled the mind to believe she could have missed such amazing, non-boring facts, but she did tend to space off during class more than she should.
I'rone seemed to read her mind. "Don't worry, most of that stuff is covered in an outside survival class they put Guadel pairs through before sending them out on their first circuit."
It was like the Goddess had finally heard Betreec's prayers and offered her the perfect opportunity, the ideal opening for steering the conversation to where she'd been hoping it would go.
"I'm not that far from finishing up my courses. Another four months probably and I'll be in my last series. Once that happens, I can be courted, can even accept proposals if they were to be tendered."
I'rone's posture seemed to have stiffened just the slightest bit. Betreec took it as a positive sign. If the thought of her marrying someone caused him distress, then he must feel strongly towards her after all.
"I know boys aren't allowed to tender proposals, or even court until after they are approved as Guadel by the Council, but that's ok. I can delay things while you finish your training. Fail a class or two, even start implying that I might become a healer instead of a Guadel. It happens all the time, but I need to know you're planning on courting me once you're able."
I'rone stopped and held a hand up. "This isn't something we should be talking about. It's prohibited."
For a second it felt like I'rone was speaking another language. "Everyone does it. Nobody wants to settle for a marriage of duty when they could have one of actual love. How else can we make sure we have a chance to be together?"
Betreec chased after I'rone as he turned away. The taste of rejection was all the worse for being so novel. "Was I wrong? Do you not like me even a little bit?"
I'rone shook his head, "What you or I might feel, or think we feel, is irrelevant. Your duty is to do your absolute best in all studies, so you can advance as quickly as possible. Delaying that deprives The People of much needed help."
"But they'll court me as soon as I graduate. It's virtually guaranteed. With so many more Daughters than candidates graduating every year, the Guadel couples almost have to court new wives. If they don't there's always a chance that the head of their bloodline will simply assign them a wife."
I'rone didn't slow, even when she grabbed his arm and tried to stop him. Betreec felt tears gather at the corners of her eyes. "It's cruel of you to make me wait like this, I'rone. To leave me unsure while I pass up other opportunities in the hopes you'll pick me once you're a full Guadel."
Their hurried footsteps and the slow drip of water were the only sound for several moments. When I'rone finally stopped, Betreec's heart jumped up to the top of her throat in anticipation, but he failed to turn and face her.
His voice came out deeper even than normal. "If you wait for me you'll be waiting in vain. I won't choose you."
Betreec couldn't stop the cold tears that seemed determined to accompany them the rest of the way down their solitary tunnel, but she refused to break into actual crying, for all she felt like a complete fool.
She was pretty enough to have any of the other boys if she'd wanted to be cold and calculating about it. Instead she'd followed the tugging in her heart pulling her towards I'rone. She'd even deluded herself into thinking his slow looks, his gorgeous, dark eyes had rested on her longer than any of the other girls. She'd often imagined he'd contrived excuses to linger in her presence. It had certainly seemed his silent form had strayed near her more often than simple chance could explain.
She silently castigated herself as they logged additional cycles of cold travel, pausing in her efforts only just long enough to send her thoughts out searching for the girl. She might be the most pathetic individual ever created by the Goddess, but she wasn't about to let her emotionless companion hold up her supposed incompetence, as yet another reason why she wasn't worthy of him.
Betreec's legs were aching with exhaustion by the time their increasingly-narrow corridor opened back up into a large chamber with more than a dozen tunnels leading off of it. I'rone stopped next to a large rock fragment that seemed to have fallen from the ceiling at some point, and pulled out a narrow strip of gurra leather.
It wasn't until Betreec finally caught up to him that she realized it was a cave map. The long list of sigils and lines gave the reader an idea of which caves were linked to each other, and by which tunnels, but weren't able to convey any real idea of how the rocky warren was really shaped.
Even with an accurate cave map to guide them, novices occasionally still lost their way after realizing they really had no idea where they were. A cavern the map represented as being next to another might actually be above, or even below, and sometimes the mind struggled at accepting that there was no real way to know where one was in relation to anything else.
Powerful female Guadel, or healers, occasionally were able to get some feel to a system of tunnels or even unworked rock, but the valuable skill had been rare a century ago and was even more infrequent now. Betreec had realized partway through her class's discussion of magic theory that her instructor was worried about the lack.
Without a rock shaper to guide them, the miners had to rely on nothing more than their questionable guesses regarding where to drill next. A wrong guess could result in a cave-in, or even someone mistakenly breaking into one of the hot springs. That had happened once in the days after the Goddess had left them. The previously-undiscovered hot spring had flooded a significant section of the Capital before finally finding a way down into the drainage areas.
The histories, both oral and written, were clear that it had been one of the greater tragedies to have struck the People since the Exodus. Even someone as young as Betreec couldn't help but shiver when she thought about all those people dying, drowning as they were trapped in the rooms and caves that'd previously represented their surest security.
For once I'rone didn't seem to be able to guess her thoughts. He double-checked the cave map against the nearest sigil, looked back to make sure she was behind him, and set off into the first tunnel.
It ne
ver got cold enough to cause the deepening streams of water to freeze motionless like I'rone had said they could, but Betreec felt her toes go numb as they investigated one cavern after another.
Their landscape changed with alarming frequency for someone who'd spent her entire life in the nearly-uniform man-made areas of the Capital. Ceilings rose and fell with complete unpredictability, sometimes forcing them to bend over almost double and other times leaving them to wander in the center of an empty space so big their light stone couldn't trace out anything more than the one wall they were hugging.
Walking hunched over was extremely unpleasant, but not nearly as much so as the sense of near-panic Betreec felt settle over her at being in such a big void. She'd never felt so small before. It made her heart race at the thought of what might be lurking just out of sight beyond the edge of their tiny pool of light.
I'rone soldiered onwards with an ease as reassuring as it was frustrating. He faced collapsed tunnels, calf-deep streams of water, and even a sudden drop off with an equanimity Betreec found hard to believe. Surely nobody could be that calm after realizing the floor disappeared less than a foot from where they'd stopped. Once she got her breathing back under control, Betreec did her best to stay closer to I'rone so as to provide him with the best light possible.
More often than not, their journey down a particular corridor ended with the appearance of a new body of water that was too deep for them to wade across. At one of their rest stops I'rone pulled out a cloak of gurra wool and handed it to Betreec, who hadn't realized she was shivering.
"We're through a quarter of the cave map."
It was an attempt to be reassuring, I'rone's first since telling her he wasn't going to propose to her.
"Right, which really doesn't mean much of anything. We could be more than halfway done with our search, or still facing a dozen cycles worth of walking."
Her response came out more venomous than she'd intended. With a sigh Betreec accepted the cloak, and wrapped it around herself as she cast her mind out once again in the vain hope they'd find the little girl whose loss had sent them down to this frozen hell.
Betreec was already starting to release the tendrils of power she'd used to perform her search, when she realized she'd sensed more than just the two of them out in the featureless expanse of stone and water. She quickly tapped back into the burning flow, smiling as she found what she was looking for.
It was there, smoky and dim due to the distance between them, but the unmistakable glow of another person was flickering away at the extreme edge of what Betreec could sense. Excitement bubbled through her as she spun back around to I'rone.
"I can feel her."
I'rone's head came up immediately, the cave map momentarily forgotten.
"She's ok?"
"I can't tell that. She's alive or I wouldn't be able to sense her at all, but I can't tell more. Not from this far away, not with so much rock in the way."
I'rone nodded abruptly and then took a quick circuit around the cavern. Once he'd verified they really had found a dead end, he swept Betreec along back in the direction they'd just come.
The next cycle and a half was incredibly frustrating. Once they'd backtracked far enough to find a new, unexplored tunnel, Betreec sent her mind out with increasing frequency until she finally sensed the tiny flame of consciousness again.
I'rone silently listened to the frequent updates, often pausing just long enough to review the cave map and nod before continuing on. They finally got close enough for Betreec to sense more, and she felt her breath catch as she realized the dim nature of the glow hadn't been due solely to distance.
"She's hurt. I think maybe cold too. She's running out of time. We need help or we're not going to find her in time."
I'rone restrained Betreec as she tried to break into a run. "It will take cycles to get help and then get back here with more people. Does she have enough time for that?"
Betreec felt her throat tighten up at the question. "No, but we've still got half the map to go through. What if we can't find her fast enough?"
"Going for help would just ensure her death."
The sudden sense of responsibility was the most crushing thing Betreec had ever experienced. When I'rone resumed walking, she followed, but not without a growing certainty they were going to fail. The mission was suddenly much more than just a welcome holiday, she wanted to cry at the looming thought of failure.
They worked their way down the list of sigils on the map, and if I'rone seemed to remain inhumanly calm, Betreec felt anything but emotionless. She alternated between depression at how much time had passed, and near euphoria over the fact that the girl was still alive.
There were several times that the girl's glow became incredibly strong, but each time they found their way blocked by something insurmountable. A collapsed cavern, a stream of water nearly to their waist, or even just a blank wall as the way came to an end.
Each time I'rone listened to her description of how close they were, and then nodded before turning and heading back the way they'd just come. Each failure hurt, but at least Betreec had a growing certainty that eventually they'd explore enough of the caverns to find her.
Their last failure felt like something had been dropped on her chest. They were staring at the blank stone wall of the last cave on I'rone's map, and if anything the girl was further away than she'd been at their last stop.
"She's not here, I'rone. How can she not be here?"
Betreec wanted to lash out. The way I'rone was ignoring her to study the now-useless cave map almost made her mad enough to hit him.
"Did you hear me? She's not here, and I can feel her getting weaker. There isn't much time left."
I'rone looked up and nodded. "I understand that we're running out of time and options, but panic doesn't aid anyone."
Pointing at the cave map, I'rone indicated a pair of sigils that looked vaguely familiar. "These two caverns were where you said we were the closest to her, correct?"
Betreec felt helplessness wash over her as she realized that even after all this time she still didn't know where they were, or how to read the map.
"I think so, the cave in and the river?"
I'rone's face went blank for a moment, almost as if he were making a decision, and then he took her arm and led her back into the tunnel they'd just exited.
"Where are we going?"
"Back to the stream. It wasn't the far from here, if we hurry there's still a chance we'll be quick enough."
Betreec's mind whirled with questions the entire half-cycle they spent all but running through the caves, but she couldn't figure out what I'rone was planning on doing. As they finally reached the swiftly moving water, she cast her senses free once again and found the dimming spark of the little girl's mind. She lost the spark in astonishment when I'rone grabbed her shoulders and pulled her around to face him.
"Which direction?"
"What?"
"Which direction is she in?"
"It doesn't work that way. I can get a vague idea of how she's doing, and a rough estimate of distance, but I can't just reach out and point towards her. Maybe a full blown rock shaper could, but I'm not that strong, not nearly that strong."
The words were out of her mouth before she realized she'd just broken what was possibly the most important rule out of all the many strictures given the Daughters. You didn't tell any of the candidates how strong you were. You didn't put yourself at risk of becoming nothing more than an object for someone seeking power. She wanted a marriage driven by love, but even more importantly she didn't want someone to marry her just because doing so would make him stronger or faster than other Guadel.
Betreec felt her world closing in around her, but before she could begin hyperventilating, I'rone shook her.
"I don't care about how strong you are or aren't. We need to save her, so stop worrying about unimportant things and try to find her."
Being shaken, especially by I'rone who'd never demonstrated
even the slightest bit of anger, doused Betreec's panic almost instantly. She pushed aside worries over the poor, freezing girl they no longer had any hope of helping, and instead opened her mind back up and reached for the guttering spark at the edge of her range.
It was no use, her efforts brought the glow slightly more into focus, but not enough to tell where she was in relationship to Betreec's own mind spark. It was hopeless. She'd never truly felt worthless before. Not in the things the mattered, not in flirting with boys, not in magic theory, not in anything that she cared even the slightest bit about. She'd always been more than good enough until today. Until I'rone turned her down without even a moment's hesitation, until she couldn't help a frightened little girl who wanted nothing more than to return home to the parents who loved her.
A haze of anger enveloped Betreec, and she pushed against her limitations, against the walls inside her mind that had always defined just how much she could do, just how much power she could draw inside herself without burning out her abilities. For the briefest of moments the girl's mind sharpened into clearer focus, and then she felt the world rush up to meet her.
Betreec opened her eyes to find she was cradled in I'rone's arms. Too distracted to dwell on the fact that she had finally found herself in exactly the situation she'd dreamed about so often before, Betreec pulled herself back to her feet, pointing off to the left as she wiped a bead of perspiration from her upper lip.
"I think she's off that way. Maybe a little below us too."
I'rone's eyes widened slightly, and Betreec looked down at her hand and found that it wasn't sweat that she'd just wiped from her face.
"It's just a nosebleed. Means I overexerted myself, but probably not enough to do any permanent damage. What's your plan?"
The smile that answered her query was bittersweet, but it only graced I'rone's face for a split second before he pointed at the water.
"There's no way to be positive, but the only place we haven't explored yet is down there. It seems impossible, but maybe she fell into the water, and then somehow made it back out."
The newfound bravery wilted slightly in Betreec's chest as she contemplated all of the terrible things possibly awaiting them in the swift current. Dropoffs, waterfalls, tunnels completely filled with water, jagged rocks that would dismember them as surely as any snow leopard or pack of wolves.