“It could not be helped,” she said, ignoring his remark as if she was afraid of losing her nerve to talk about it. “But you see, that wasn’t me…”
Sebastian looked at her in silence, uncertain what to say.
“Lodz was an idiot and an asshole, but he happened to come across Svetka and some of the kitchen group stealing food. They managed to keep him in the dark about the escape plan; he just thought they wanted extra food, but we had been secretly giving people extra portions to build up their strength for weeks. We needed a fighting chance. And that piece of shit was in a position to ruin it all. So, he was promised certain…benefits if he kept quiet. The girls in the group all took turns if possible, even if none of us wanted to.”
Niora paused. Sebastian had rarely heard any of the women talk so strongly. He thought of his own anger toward the soldiers of the Stone King.
“That day in the mine…I had hoped we would be out by then, but I could not allow that brute to get to Mette. I wanted to protect her and the child. I—I just wanted you to know that…because I saw how you looked at me. Saw what you thought, and it hurt. Because—because I like you.”
She looked at him, waiting, but Sebastian was at a loss for words. She wiped away a tear that ran down her cheek and let out an uncomfortable laugh.
“Okay…okay. I have to go. And get some…uhm…water,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”
She turned around and continued on her way.
Sebastian watched her go, panic swirling inside. It had never occurred to him that she had encouraged the guard for anything but herself. So why did he not say anything now? Come on. Speak up. But before he uttered a word, she disappeared around the corner of the rock. He was such an idiot, and now it was too late.
Is it?
The thought was spoken in the familiar voice of his missing friend.
Marek would say it’s never too late, he thought, trying to convince himself. Never too late to say thank you. Never too late to do something back. And never too late to start getting to know someone.
“Hey, Niora,” he said as he followed her around the corner.
She turned around and looked at him with anticipation.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” he said. “We’ve all seen horrible things. Done things we’re not proud of. I…uhm…thank you for telling me. And—and perhaps we can sit later. And you can tell me about the real you?”
Niora’s smile returned.
“I would like that,” she replied, before she turned around once more and continued down the hill—this time with a noticeably lighter step.
When he returned to camp, Sebastian saw Ann approach both Jarod and Svetka.
“What’s going on?” he asked when he got close.
“There’s something you all should see,” said Ann.
Sebastian dropped the water bag and followed the rest of them further into the mountain cove until they nearly hit the wall. There, a young man stood patiently waiting.
“Twan here discovered something that could be useful for tonight,” said Ann, before adding in the Kovian language. “Why don’t you lead the way, Twan?”
Twan walked further toward the wall, giving Sebastian the impression he was going to climb it, but in fact he ducked under some plants and disappeared. Surprised, Sebastian followed Jarod and Svetka into the naturally hidden tunnel. None had seen it until they were literally on top of it.
“Had Twan not gone to rest against the wall, we might never have known it was here,” said Ann.
They followed the tunnel for several turns until they unexpectedly found themselves in a wide enclosed space. Rock walls ran on all sides, but the ceiling of stone was not there. The darkening evening sky showed above the ridges, with none of the forest’s giant trees close enough to take away the light. The entire open cavern was filled with vegetation; tall grass and a thorny plant loaded with wild berries.
Sebastian walked forward, but Jarod held him back, looking at the ground.
“It’s okay,” said Ann. “We checked with sticks and rocks. None of those critters are here.”
Quickly, Sebastian went over to the bushes and picked one of the tiny fruits.
“Are these raspberries?” he said, baffled. “There’s thousands of them. I haven’t had one of these since I was ten.”
He looked at Ann, the question clearly visible on his face.
“Twan tried one already. It’s safe.”
The flavor that exploded in his mouth instantly brought him back to his summers back home; the Aeterran coast, with its warm summers and miles of orchards. The raspberries would only grow in the forests, though, and you had to really look for them if you were too late in the season, but they had always been one of his favorites. He would bring back buckets with his sister and mother and make jam and juice from them.
“This is amazing,” he said with his mouth full.
“I think we should move people in here for the night,” Ann proposed. “It’s sheltered, out of sight and we will have plenty to add to the current menu.”
Jarod and Svetka took a tour of the space, but did not need much convincing. If they cut away part of the vegetation, there would be plenty of space for everyone and they could make proper fires without fear of being spotted.
“Where do these lead to?” asked Jarod as they came across a few tunnel entrances in the back.
“We haven’t checked them all yet, but most circle back here or are a dead end,” said Ann. “Twan suggested we scout the rest in the morning, if we can fabricate a makeshift torch from something.”
Jarod looked back at Twan, Sebastian and finally Svetka.
“Fine,” Jarod said. “But we’ll post some people on watch back here, just to be sure. I don’t want to be caught off guard in this place if it turns out something does live here after all.”
They quickly went to work. One group cleared a large patch of the high grass with the swords and knives they had. Campfires were moved, while others went to pick berries in the last light of day. It was a bit cramped with only the minimum space cleared, but many of the group no longer wanted to sleep far apart after their encounters with the sand devils, so there were few objections. And for the first time in weeks—if not years—Sebastian slept within the blanket of safety. He could not explain it, but he was not the only one. He saw other people more relaxed and happy in their secret hideaway from the world than he had ever seen them.
The next morning, he joined Jarod and Twan on their mission to explore the rest of the tunnels. Ann had been right; most of them quickly led nowhere, but one snaked further into their stone encirclement. They managed to follow it to the end, as it seemed to rise and climb from ground level. When they exited, the view took Sebastian’s breath away. They were on a small plateau. When he looked down, he stared along a cliff that fell to the forest floor twenty yards below. Ahead was the forest of giant trees that stood like pillars holding their domes of leaves. At the end of the plateau, a giant branch from the nearest tree had grown directly into the rock. It was like a pathway leading into a whole other world. Now they were closer to the canopy, Sebastian saw the tops of the trees were filled with life. Birds, lizards, small fuzzy animals the climbed with the speed of hares—it was a stark contrast to the almost deserted forest floor.
“We should explore,” Sebastian heard Twan mumble in the local language.
“Nothing here,” concluded Jarod at the same time.
“I wouldn’t say nothing,” said Sebastian, pointing to a large owl that flew away from an upper branch and a tiny creature that scurried along the trunk of the tree.
“I mean, it looks like there’s nothing of any danger to us,” Jarod clarified. “I think we can stay here for a while. Get rested.”
Sebastian’s face must have betrayed his feelings about that because Jarod grabbed his shoulder and shook him lightly.
“Oh, come on. It’s just going to be for a few days. It’s not like people want to stay.”
&nb
sp; Sebastian adjusted the ring around his neck. The pieces of fabric he had put between him and the metal did little to stop his skin from getting chafed. He wondered when it could finally be taken off.
“I’ve heard people saying they can’t go any further,” he said. “And not everyone thinks Aeterra, or the Southern Cities on the mid-continent, can be reached. There’s an entire ocean between here and there. These mountains and strange forests might have the bigger appeal to some, if they feel safe.”
“If that’s the case, we should talk about it. We can’t force people to go on. Those who get restless can clear out some more plants, just to keep busy. And perhaps we could send out a scouting party, to see if we can find any other groups that have made it this far,” Jarod said. He turned around and headed back into the tunnel. “Come on, let’s get back. Svetka was talking about another in the group who wants to do more. His name’s Aanon. I think you’ll like him.”
Note from the Author
And so we halt our story of Sebastian’s escape from the Stone King’s mines, even if there is much more to tell. A story of the past, that is not easily forgotten by the ones who were there.
But it is funny how life can run its course in unexpected ways: it will be years before Sebastian finally meets Raylan and Galirras, allowing him to escape the Dark Continent. Following his new friends, it will turn out to be a journey he could never have dreamed of.
If you have not done so already, why not check out ‘Windcatcher - Book I of the Stone War Chronicles’ today? Windcatcher is available on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Kobo, iBooks, Google books and many other stores around the world.
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Thank you for reading and may we meet again on the pages soon.
- A.J. Norfield
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Goodreads: Revolt of Blood and Stone
About the Author
A.J. Norfield lives with his loving family on land, but below sea level. He tries not to worry too much about climate change and the melting of the polar ice caps. His wife, and two rascally children, keep him engaged and grounded in life while he pursues his goal of publishing a story that has been stuck in his head for years.
As a long-time forest and mountain enthusiast, A.J. often wonders about his flat surroundings and how to escape them. In his rare moments of free time, he enjoys gaming, reading, writing, drawing and socializing. His interest in dragons and fantasy novels began when he was first old enough to read and has followed him throughout his life. It was this interest—along with a number of broken nights thanks to his daughter’s sleeping schedule—that eventually led him to write ‘The Stone War Chronicles’ and put it out into the world.
Inspired by the likes of Anne McCaffrey, Terry Goodkind and Naomi Novik—to name only a few—A.J. hopes to find his own path among the genre’s greatest writers.
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